Legend of Darth Bane
by cloud411
Summary: With the Jedi believing that now all the Sith are destroyed, Bane must recover from his weakened state to train his apprentice to take his place as Dark Lord of the Sith. Finished, please review, thank you!
1. Chapter 1: Vulnerability

Note: This fanfic is set following the events of Darth Bane: Rule of Two by Drew Karpyshyn

Star Wars: Legend of Darth Bane

Chapter One: Vulnerability

After Banes near capture on Ambria, Zannah had restored the power back to the _Loranda_ star ship after a few days of hard work. She used the power of the force to pick his masters unconscious body up from the hatch they had been hiding in and put him on a gurney that floated half a meter from the ground.

She guided the gurney up the loading ramp of the ship. She guided it down passed several chambers in the ship until she reached the medical bay. She hooked her master up to several Bacta injectors to accelerate his healing process. He was still weak due to the effects of his own dark side energy turned against him, and by the orbalisks poisons that were injected into his body.

She made her way to the cockpit and fired up the engines. Still thinking of what they should do next. Until her master was powerful enough to move as he did before the orbalisks were removed from him, she would have to find a secure location to take them.

Luckily for them, the jedi who had arrived on Ambria to capture the Sith Lord that had killed four jedi, two of them masters, fell for her trick. Images of her butchering Caleb, cutting him into pieces with her lightsaber, then using Sith Sorcery to cause her cousin Darovit to see his worst fears and to attack the jedi who had come to Ambria to arrest them. They had killed Darovit, believing him to be the Sith Lord that they had received information about.

Zannah couldn't help but smirk at the thought of how easily the jedi were fooled. _Darovit had no lightsaber skills, he just charged at them, and they actually believed that someone who fights like that could kill two jedi masters and two knights?_ She thought to herself as she guided the _Loranda_ off the desert ground of Ambria and towards the planets atmosphere.

She keyed in the autopilot and stood up from the pilots seat. She walked out of the cockpit and down the hall. She needed a shower.

A horrible pain pulsated its way through his body. Trying to move his body parts seemed pointless; no matter how hard he tried, he could only move his right hand. The poison must still be working its way out of his system. He slowly opened his eyes. Darth Bane, Dark Lord of the Sith, so weak, so vulnerable. Banes faces twisted in irritation at how vulnerable he had become at that moment.

If that stupid Jedi Master hadn't put up that force field to reflect Banes own dark side energy against him then he would still have the orbalisks attached to his body, parasites that had shells dense enough to withstand even direct lightsaber attacks.

He would have had to get rid of the orbalisks at some point, but he wanted that point to be further along, once it was time for Zannah to become the Dark Lord of the Sith.

He slowly moved his eyes and felt with what little force he could muster in his current state. He was in the medical bay of the ship that Zannah stole from that old man. He could feel the bacta working its way through his system working to counteract the poison in him and accelerate his healing process.

He lay on the table, weak, and vulnerable. This time only a few days ago, he had extreme power, power enough to kill two Jedi Masters by himself; but in an instant that was stalled. His power was now weakened for the time being. But it would return. He would once again be invincible in the force until his apprentice Zannah, one day succeeded him and killed him.

Bane could feel the ship begin to lift off the ground. Where was Zannah taking them? Until Bane was healed enough to move on his own, he would require Zannah to do everything. His apprentice had proven that she is capable of becoming the next Dark Lord of the Sith. She was powerful, cunning, and had extreme beauty to captivate and control the hearts of any man she wanted-besides Bane.

Bane had made a mistaken on Ruusan he had now realized. He had let those two mercenaries escape and tell the jedi that there was one 

remaining Sith after the thought bomb. At the time it seemed like a good idea, but after Banes encounter with the Jedi Masters in the temple on Tython, and that one jedi which turned his own power against him-he realized that he had made a mistake. He had allowed one jedi to believe that the Sith still existed, and after ten years that jedi finally got the proof to prove it, and that connection caused the event that had rendered Bane so weak.

The Rule of Two; two there should be; no more, no less; one to embody power, the other to crave it. A master, and an apprentice. That rule will be the foundation for all Siths to come, Bane would see to that himself. When the time came for Zannah and Bane to fight to the death, and Zannah to win and kill her master; then she would seek out an apprentice and keep The Rule of Two alive.

Bane felt the ship shake a little, signaling that they had left the planets atmosphere. For now he needed to rest, and recover, and once his power had returned, he would continue his quest to build a holocron and pass his knowledge to future Siths.


	2. Chapter 2: The Dark Lords Return

Chapter Two: The Dark Lords Return

The _Loranda_ jerked as it came out of hyperspace. Zannah walked into the cockpit after checking on her master. His rate of recovery was increasing at an astounding rate. It had only been a few days since they had left Ambria, and yet Bane was already getting movement back. He could speak clearly now, and could move his body to a point. She could sense something else besides his rate of recovery: his power was returning.

The last time she had checked up on him he had been conscious and had decided to see how much of his power had returned to him. He gathered up the power he had and unleashed it in a storm of sith lightning that fried the bacta supply and all electronic devices in the room-and burned Zannah's right arm.

She never seems surprised by her master, he always seems to do the impossible, and to do it well. She sat down in the pilots chair and brought up a digital map of the planet they were headed towards. Korriban, the place where the most elite Sith Academy had been before the thought bomb was unleashed on Ruusan, destroying all the Sith.

Zannah figured that this would be the last place that any jedi would be-and the perfect place for them to hide until Bane was back to 100. She brought the ship into the atmosphere and headed towards the Valley of the Sith Lords. She could feel the power of the dark side in the 

air she breathed, she could feel the planet giving her energy. This was truly a world filled with dark side energy-the perfect home for a Sith.

She activated the _Loranda's_ landing gear and brought it down in the middle of a massive clearing. As the landing gear struck ground, a cloud of jet black sand flew up into the air. Truly this place was as dark as it felt. Zannah looked out of the cockpit window. All she could see was an endless field of black sand, and a few massive objectives she guessed were mountains to the north of where they had landed. She shut down the ships engines and got up to go out to the surface. She grabbed her black robe and threw it on.

She activated the ships boarding ramp. As it extended to the ground she could feel even more of the dark energy that shrouded this planet. When the ramp was fully extended she walked down the hard durasteel pathway.

She stepped onto the barren surface, her black leather boots kicking black sand up in the air with every step. There was a wind blowing, but the wind was neither warm nor cool. It was absent of any feeling. The only thing the wind seemed to do was to blow up the black sand off the ground and right at her face.

She flipped her hood up and turned from left to right taking in the scenery. For it being a barren wasteland of a planet, she found it awfully soothing. She found it enjoyable, pleasant-whether her master would see it the same way, she did not know.

Sitting up on the table, Bane removed the bacta tubes from his body. His yellow eyes scanning the room. They had landed somewhere. Bane flipped his legs around the table and jumped off. He may not be at 100 yet, but he was at least 50 back to his powerful self.

He turned to exit the medical bay when he felt something. This place seemed familiar, like he had been here before; but that it was a very long time since he had been here. He walked out of the medical bay and down to the loading ramp, using his massive height to walk in long strides.

As soon as he saw the black sand the ship was resting on he knew where they were-Korriban the place where he had once been a student at a Sith Academy. They were near the Valley of the Sith Lords, where Bane had gone in search of ancient knowledge left behind by the ancient Siths.

He looked around, all the memories of his experiences on this planet coming back to him. How this is where he began his journey to ultimate power; how he had met Githany, the women who would betray him for the foolish Brotherhood. The mere thought of his past experiences here-though some of them were fruitful, began to anger him.

He left Korriban to begin the New Sith Order, he had never planned to return to this dust bowl again. He felt around for his apprentice, but could not sense her anywhere. She had the power to cloak her presence so she could be anywhere and Bane would never know.

He suddenly felt something behind him and turned to face it. Zannah stood at the foot of the loading ramp with her black robe on, its hood 

protecting her face and hair from the black sand. "Why did you bring us here?" he asked in a threatening voice.

"I thought this would be the last place that anyone would find us" she answered bring her hood down. "The perfect place for you to recover" she added.

Bane stared at her with irritation shinning in his yellow eyes. "All the places in the galaxy, and you chose this place" he said with a snarl.

"This place has a massive collection of dark side energy" she said. "Almost as much as Ambria"

"This place is a rotten dust bowl of a planet" Bane replied. "If I had my way I'd blow the thing up. This is where the old Siths believed that they were all equal and could live that way" he spat on the ground. "All fools, deserving of their fate"

He turned to face Zannah fully. "Where have you been?" he asked.

"I found the Sith Academy that had once been active here" she answered. "Thought I'd look around, see if there was anything useful"

"And?" Bane asked.

"Just some food and supplies, nothing worth of great value" she answered revealing a sack she had been carrying on her back. "Enough food for a few days, and supplies to fix a few things on the ship" she focused her gaze on Bane. "This time the jedi truly believe that all the Sith are gone, right?" she asked.

Bane gave a wicked grin. "Yes" he answered. "Thanks to your trick, the jedi now fully believe that the Sith are indeed dead. I saw nothing but 

advantages when I let those two mercenaries go ten years ago, they would spread rumors about a Sith surviving the thought bomb, and that no one would believe them. It may have taken ten years, but that 'advantage' turned against me" he explained. "I won't make the same mistake twice" he added.

Zannah walked up to stand beside her master. "Did you get everything you need from that temple on Tython?" she asked.

"Yes, I now know what I need to successfully create a holocron" he answered. "After I am healed, we will go and get the pieces I need" he added.

Bane closed his eyes to suck in the dark side energy this planet was giving out. He drew from it, the more breaths he took, the more dark side energy he took into his body. He could feel his power returning.

Zannah looked at her master. He seemed to be drawing from the planet. She could feel his power coming back. Sensing that he wanted to be left alone, she walked back to the foot of the loading ramp and grabbed her sack she had packed the food and supplies in. Swinging it over her shoulder she walked up the ramp and back into the ship.

She walked to the lounge area and started to load the food. How much more does Bane have left to teach her? When will the right time be to kill him and take the title of Dark Lord of the Sith? These questions started to run through her mind.

Now that the orbalisks were off him, he will be easier to defeat-not that he will be at all easy, but with the orbalisks, he had armor that not even 

a lightsaber could penetrate, without them, he was vulnerable. With all the power and knowledge that Bane had, how much of it will be he be willing to pass on to her? He wanted to create a holocron to put all his knowledge in so that others worthy enough may one day find it. Will that be knowledge that he will not share with her?

How much was he actually going to teach her before he stopped? It will be a while before she has enough power and understanding to fight Bane and have any chance of killing him, so she would have to wait, and soak up as much knowledge as she can from him before that day comes.

She looked at her reflection as she walked pas the bathroom. She stared at herself for a long while in the mirror. If she became as powerful as her master, would she be like him in appearance also? Will her features be twisted to a degree?

She stroked her blond hair and decided that no matter what, she would not let her appearance be morphed by the dark side, she would control it, and not let it control her in any way. She walked to the cockpit and opened up a panel in the control board. Some of the wires were a little loose, she needed to fix them before they left.

Now that the jedi problem had been taken care of, it seemed that they were only going to focus on Bane's completion of a holocron until it was completed.

As she worked on the wires, she could hear her master walking up the loading ramp. His boots made his walking very obvious. Loud clunks on the metal floor. From the sound of his steps Zannah summarized that he was going to the lounge to meditate. She went back to working on 

the wires, knowing that if there was any problem during their next trip, her master we be extremely upset.

Zannah was hard at work on the wires, and Bane was deep in meditation. Neither of them noticed or sensed a second ship entering the planets atmosphere.


	3. Chapter 3: Secret

Chapter Three: Secret

His ship jutted out of hyperspace near the planets atmosphere. He leaned back in the pilots seat and brushed his black hair from his eyes. "Korriban" he muttered to himself as the planet became bigger the closer he got to it.

Jedi Knight Suji was on his first mission from the newly formed Jedi Council. Following the Ruusan Reformation Act, the Jedi Council that had been in session during that time was disbanded and a new one was formed.

Suji was a young Jedi Knight, mid twenties. He wore the simple wear of a jedi, brown robe and fighting outfit, equip with a utility belt that held basic equipment: a pack of medical injections for use in the field, a communicator, and of course, the signature weapon of all jedi, his lightsaber. He has black hair, matched with deep brown eyes.

He keyed in on the keypad next to the control yolks and took the ship off of autopilot. He slowly brought his little two passenger ship into the planets atmosphere. The instant he got within the planet, he could feel the dark side flow into his ship like water flowing in a river. He let out a little shiver at the first feel of the energy, then create a field of light side energy to repel as much of the dark side energy as possible.

This was his first mission as a Jedi Knight. He was to go to the Sith world Korriban to locate the fabled Sith Academy that had once been active 

during the Sith Wars. The academy was rumored to train those with an exceptionally strong gift to the dark side. They trained future Sith Lords.

He had approximate coordinates to the academy, but the information was not a hundred percent solid, so he had to use his eyes to truly locate the academy. As he brought the ship to the approximate coordinates that he had received he couldn't help but wonder if it was purely the dark side energy on this planet that had turned it into this barren wasteland.

He passed over a massive valley with what looked like temples or tombs on the ground. He noted that this must be the Valley of the Sith Lords. He passed over the valley and over a mountain pass, then he saw it. A massive temple like structure, even without checking his location, he knew that this was the Sith Academy he was sent here to located-and destroy.

His mission was to locate the Sith Academy, take all the Sith documents out of the academy, locate anything that could help them prevent any further Sith from rising to power, then to destroy the academy. He put his ship down near what he guessed was the front entrance to the academy. A massive archway that led into the temple from the ground. He activated the loading ramp and walked down to the surface.

He felt nothing as he walked towards the archway into the academy. He could still feel the dark sides presence all around him, even inside the academy, aside from the energy he felt, nothing else was there. Suji noticed almost immediately that the academy was much bigger than he had thought, from the stone corridor that led into the massive temple like academy, he encountered several other corridors at the end of the first one.

This place is like a maze, he thought as he chose the path to his left. How anyone could find their way around this place, he did not know. It was like a twisted maze of corridors, with rooms he guessed were used to house individual students. As he walked past the rooms, he couldn't help but peek into each one. Each room that housed the students were almost completely empty, aside from a table and bed to each room, nothing else was in there.

He continued down several other passages until he reached a door at the end of one of the passages. He slowly pushed it open with a creaking sound. The noise echoed through out the whole hollow structure of the temple like academy. The room was massive, the room could easily house a hundred people in it. He guessed that this was one of their training rooms, where the masters trained the apprentices to harness the dark side of the force.

He turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him. He backtracked to where he had chosen the passage from. He chose a different one this time, hoping that he would find what he needed to so he could get off this planet. The dark side energy was beginning to make him feel uneasy.

He reached a flight of stairs that led down, probably to an underground section of the academy. Taking a deep breath he began his walk down the stone stairs. As he did, he couldn't help but imagine what training was like for the apprentices in this academy when it was still active. The Sith were not known from their merciful nature, or their compassion for other living creatures, they most likely pushed their apprentices to their limit and beyond, striving for perfection over imperfection.

As he continued to ascend further, he started to smell a rotten odor in the air. The smell started to burn his nose the more he ascended. He had to try and use the sleeve of his jedi robe to cover his nose and protect it from the awful stench of whatever he was smelling.

When he reached the end of the stairs he was almost overcome by the sudden intensity of the stench. He gave a few deep coughs before walking forward. He entered what was obviously once a library or archival chamber of sometime. Bookshelves lay on the ground, the wood rotten by the ravages of time. Books littered across the floor, most of them burned by something, or their pages turned to dust by time.

He tried to walk further into the chamber but he was held at bay by the massive stench still lingering in the air. He scanned the room with his eyes to see if he could locate the source, but he saw nothing. His ability to use the force was hindered by the forever lingering presence of the dark side energy this planet was exerting.

He reached into his utility belt and pulled out a breather. A device that you bite onto and the devices gives you oxygen for a limited amount of time, a common tool for when jedi needed to travel underwater; but it also worked to cover up awful stenches such as the one Suji was overcome by. He bit down on it and took a slow, deep breath, breathing in the clean oxygen the device gave him.

With his ability to breathe normally finally back he walked deeper into the small chamber. He kneeled down next to an overturned bookshelf and lifted it off the ground, he took several step backwards at what he found: the headless body of some alien. He recovered from the shock 

of finding a headless corpse rather quickly and tried to determine the species of the creature, but he could not, the body was too decayed.

He noticed a piece of metal next to the decayed body's right army, he bent down and picked it up. It was the hilt of a double bladed lightsaber. He hit the two ignition switched, and two red blades a meter in length each, shot out from both ends. Suji stared at it for a few seconds then deactivated the weapon. He clipped it on his belt to take back to the Jedi Temple with him.

There must have been some type of betrayal within the Sith prior to their downfall, Suji thought as he studied the dead, headless, decayed body. The head had clearly been severed by a lightsaber blade. He walked a few feet away from the body and bent down next to a round object obscured by dust. He brushed the dust off of it. It was the head that belonged to the body. Several different species of critters scrambled out of the open eye sockets and the open mouth.

"Heavenly" Suji commented as he turned away from the head.

It doesn't look like anything in this room will be salvageable, he thought as he walked out of the chamber and started back up the spiraling stairs.

As he was walking up the stairs his mind was full of questions. Suji was a man of questions, he asked more questions than most could give him answers to. The questions in his mind now were: How did the Sith train their apprentices? Did they welcome slaughter among the students? Betrayal? Murder? These were questions he would most likely never see answered.

Suji was recruited to be a Jedi Youngling when he was only two years old. He had never known his parents, their names, even what they looked like, they were just faceless, voiceless people in his mind. He had always liked the jedi, they may have taken him from his family, but at least they gave him a decent life, a life that he never thought possible to live. However, a part of him resented the jedi for taking him away from his parents, depriving him of a real childhood, friends, maybe a brother or sister, a girlfriend, they had taken him from a normal life, and given him this life, without his approval of it.

His anger towards the jedi was only outweighed by his desire to help others. He was able to always keep his emotions under control and not let them seep out of him. He was one who spent most of his life after becoming a Jedi Knight, helping others. He had been a Jedi Padawan during the Sith Wars over ten years ago, when the Army of Light fought against Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness. He had seen his fair share of battles during that time, and had his share of victories. His master at the time, Jedi Master Rans had tried to shield him from as much of the bloodshed as possible.

However a war that big, and that important, only drew blood from those who fought in it. His master had been destroyed by the thought bomb on Ruusan. His master had pushed him to get off the planet, and that going with General Hoth was not his destiny, that he was meant to live through this war, and carry on the knowledge to future generations of Jedi Knights.

After the thought bomb, the Sith Wars was finally over. The Brotherhood extict, and all the Sith destroyed. He would carry on the will of his late master, and bring his knowledge to the next generation.

As he reached the top of the stairs he pulled the breather out of his mouth and stuffed it back in his pack on his utility belt. Then he suddenly noticed something on the ground. There were boot prints in the dust on the floor of the corridor he was looking down. He bent down on one knee next to it. This was not his, it was a little smaller, probably a women's boot print. He gently touched the dust and closed his eyes to the touch. The print was fresh, most likely just before he arrived in the planets atmosphere.

He was not the only one who had been here-he unclipped his lightsaber from his utility belt but did not activate it, or he was not the only one here right now.


	4. Chapter 4: Time To Leave

Chapter Four: Time to Leave

Bane was in a deep state of meditation. Meditating on his recent successes and failures: the success of finding out why his attempts to build a holocron failed; how had underestimated that Jedi Master who had turned his own power against him, crippling him for a long period of time; his success at recovery.

He was suddenly jerked out of his meditation by a disturbance he felt in the dark side on the plant. He stood up and walked to the loading ramp of the _Loranda._ He walked won the ramp and stepped onto the planets barren surface. He closed his eyes to focus the force and sense where the disturbance was coming from, and what it was.

He reached out with the force and felt it. A Jedi here on Korriban, about forty meters to the south, at the Sith Academy he had once attended. He felt deeper, reaching out as far as he could, trying to figure out the Jedi's motives for visiting a Sith World. At first the presence was normal, then the Jedi's awareness was suddenly heightened; Bane could feel it in the force.

The dark side energy emanating from the planet was masking Banes and Zannah own dark side energy, making them invisible to the light side of the force. Bane stared in the direction of the temple academy, his yellow eyes burning with anger at the mere memories of what had happened here. Part of him wanted to go to the academy and kill the Jedi, but a bigger part of him knew that that would be a foolish move; a 

Jedi killed by lightsaber, that would bring up the debate of another Sith Lord living. Bane was not about to make the same mistake twice.

He turned and headed back up the loading ramp into the ship. Zannah had just walked out of the cockpit and almost ran into her master. She sidestepped her way around him. "Did you notice it?" she asked as she stopped near the entrance to the lounge area.

"The Jedi, yes" Bane answered not turning around to face her. "Once he has left, we will go back to the academy" he added.

"What are we looking for, master?" she asked.

"There are some records that I want to look at that were kept in the chambers of one of the masters" he answered. "The records could provide me with information"

"What records are we looking for?"

"We're going to take all the records in his chambers" Bane said as he started down the hall.

Zannah watched as her master turned a corner and disappeared from view.

Zannah walked into the lounge area and sat down on one of the couches. She kicked her feet up and gave a big long stretch. What was a Jedi doing here on Korriban? Did one of the Jedi suspect that the Sith wasn't dead? Were they followed?

No, she thought. That doesn't make sense, if they had been followed than there would be several Jedi here, including Jedi Masters; but there 

is only one here, and this one doesn't feel like a master. Which means the Jedi must be here at the same time they are by coincidence. She closed her eyes. She remembered her fight against the Jedi Knight on Tython: the man used the same type of lightsaber she did, a double bladed lightsaber, although his two blades were longer than hers. She thought of the thrill she had experienced while facing him. She had never fought a Jedi before that day. She remembered the excitement of fighting him, the adrenaline of her moves, and the thrill of ending the Knights life.

She slowly opened her eyes. Her master had promised her that someday the Jedi would fall, but would it be in her lifetime? Or would it be in her apprentices life time once she found one? She had more questions than answers about the future. However, she would have to focus on the here and now in order to surpass Bane, kill him, become the new Dark Lord of the Sith, _then_ she would worry about finding an apprentice. Worrying about the future when her future was uncertain at the moment would only hinder her ability to perform in the present.

She couldn't help but wonder what records Bane wanted to collect from the academy. The answer to that question would be answered once this Jedi left.

Suji stalked through the passages following the fresh boot prints in the dusty floor. Lightsaber in his right hand, turned off as to not give away his position if he was not alone in the temple. The boot prints led down several hallways. He followed them into what he guessed was once a cafeteria-though everything in it had been destroyed by time.

He followed the prints to the other side of the room where there was a doorway. He slowly made his way through it, but the prints vanished on the other side. He looked up and down the hall way, nothing. The dust must have been cleared away from this point on as the person walked.

He decided to lower his guard to a degree but to keep his lightsaber in his hand in case he was not alone. He slowly made his way back through the cafeteria and back to the point where he started to follow the prints. It doesn't seem like there was anything left in this place that would help them if another Sith were to arise. So he would move onto his next objective: destroy the academy.

For this he needed to get back to his ship and get the explosives he had brought with him. In order to do that, he needed to backtrack to the entrance. He made his way to the entrance after ten minutes of trying to backtrack his way. He walked over to his ship and walked up the loading ramp.

Behind the pilots chair he hit a key on the wall and a small section of the wall moved aside revealing several thermal detonators, concussion grenades, and several high level explosive devices. He pulled out a sack and packed them all into it before closing the section of the wall and leaving the ship.

He made his way back to the entrance to the academy and placed four charges; one on every corner of the door. The charges lit up red signaling that they were active and ready to be detonated. He made his way back into the academy to place the rest of the charges to blow the place off the planet.

Banes head spun around to face the direction of the academy from inside the ship. He felt it through the force, something was about to happen to the academy. He had to get there and get those records, he had no idea what was on them, but he figured that if they were in his chambers, than they must have some significance.

He walked in long strides to the loading ramp and snatched his black robe off a hook next to the ramp. He threw it on and started down the ramp.

Zannah was outside looking around at the emptiness of the planet. She turned hearing the approach of her master. "Where are you going, master?" she asked.

"To the academy" he answered walking past her.

"On foot?"

"I'll get there faster this way" he replied gathering the force for a massive force powered sprint.

Zannah walked beside him. "Then I'll come too"

Bane let loose with the force disappearing in a flash as he sprinted towards the academy. Zannah followed in suit though a little slower than her master.

They reached the academy within a few seconds of sprinting away from their ship. Bane was already half way through the entrance when Zannah caught up with him. She noticed the ship parked outside, a two passenger transport ship. There could be one more Jedi here than they thought.

Bane entered the academy. Memories of his time here coming back to him as he proceeded deeper into the structure. Zannah caught up to him. "You notice those detonators around the entrance?" she asked.

Bane didn't respond.

Of course he did, Zannah thought. They were clearly visible. She flipped her long blond hair out of her face as they got deeper into the academy. She was following her master, turning down hall after hall, until they finally stopped outside of a room. The door was half eaten by critters who inhabited the place. Bane pushed the door open, which fell over with a thud at his touch.

The room, Zannah noticed, was filled with what looked like expensive treasures coated with layers of dust from over ten years of being here untended to. Bane walked over to a dust and cobweb coated book shelf and using the force easily cleared the shelf of all dust and cobwebs. The bookshelf was filled with leather bound books, and parchments.

"Who's room is this?" Zannah asked unable to restrain herself. "There are a whole lot of treasures in here" she added.

"This was the room of that fool Qordis who headed this academy before his death and the fall of the Sith" he glanced at the dusty treasures. "Pathetic man with his trinkets"

Bane pulled several books off the shelf and flipped through them, tossing the books, one by one onto the floor. He was obviously searching for something.

"Master" Zannah said after several minutes. "The Jedi is on his way to this hall" she said reaching out with the dark side to follow his movements.

Bane turned his back to the bookshelf, his face twisted with irritation. Bane had thought that Qordis at least would have a good selection of ancient Sith texts, but in the end, his texts were as useless as Qordis himself.

Zannah was at the edge of the doorway, tracking the Jedis moves with the force. Bane walked up behind her. "We're leaving" he said, and strode out of the room.

Suji walked down the hall having placed the last of his detonators, he was ready to blow this place up, and get back to the Jedi Temple. The constant presence of the dark side was starting to cloud his judgment. He wanted to leave the planet as quickly as possible.

He walked past a room that made him stop and backtrack. The door to this room wasn't on the ground when he last walked past it; and there were books on the ground, last time he looked in this room all the books were on the shelf. His gripped tightened on his lightsaber hilt, he wasn't alone in this place after all.

He tried to reach out with the force as hard as he could. It was near impossible on this planet, all the dark side energy was hindering his own force abilities; but he persisted reaching out as hard as he could, concentrating as hard as he could. Then he felt it: two force sensitive being moving two halls down from him-they were users of the dark side!

He had to get out of here, and warn the other Jedi of this. His control of the light side of the force only last another second before the dark side clouded his attempts. He rushed down a few halls to the entrance: using the charges he had placed to guide his way back.

He ran through the entrance and was halfway back to his ship before he noticed a figure at the foot of his loading ramp into his ship. The figure was a human women, strikingly beautiful, very nice figure, and had blond hair that blew in the emotionless breeze. She wore a black robe, typical for the Sith.

Suji flipped the ignition switched on the hilt of his lightsaber brining the blue blade into existence with a snap-hiss. The women flipped her robe open and reached for her belt.

Bane and Zannah made it out of the academy when she turned to her master. "Can I dispose of the Jedi, master?" she asked.

Bane gave her a questioning look. "It is your choice whether you fight him or not, but if you choose to, leave no evidence behind, leave no sign of the fight, his body, or his ship" he answered. "We cannot afford another mistake" he added with a sharp and threatening tone.

Zannah bowed her head slightly. "I understand, master" she replied.

Bane force sprinted his way back towards their ship. Zannah walked to the foot of the Jedi ships loading ramp and waited. After a few minutes of waiting, she was rewarded with the Jedi running out of the academy. At the sight of her he ignited his blue lightsaber.

She flipped her robe open and unclipped her lightsaber from her belt. She flicked the two switches bringing her two red blades of her double bladed lightsaber into existence.

The Jedi rushed at her with great speed, thrusting his blue blade at her exposed chest. Using one of her blades she easily parried the attempt and spun on the heel of her right foot, bringing her left foot around to try and sweep the Jedi's feet out from under him. The Jedi leapt into the air with a back flip and landed behind her.

She turned around and started to spin her double bladed weapon in a circle in front of her, creating a shield of red energy. She was spinning her double bladed weapon so fast the two blades looked to be one, and that one appeared as nothing but a blur of red.

The Jedi remained in a ready stance, ready to attack or defend. Zannah and the Jedi circled each other several times before the Jedi lunged forward yet again.

Zannah easily blocked his attempt with one blade, and twisted her arm to bring the second blade of her weapon around, aimed at the mans legs. The Jedi jumped back moments before the blade of red energy was about to cut his legs off.

Clearly his ability to use the force here has been hindered by the dark side they were surrounded by. Zannah realized that this Jedi would be no threat to her, and that she could try out a new style of fighting. She clicked one of the ignition switches, drawing one of the red blades of her weapon back. She was now only using one blade.

Suji watched as this Sith mocked him by shutting down one of her blades. She was making fun of him! Mocking him! His grip on his lightsaber hilt tightened and he started to grind his teeth. He had never faced an opponent who mocked him so much. He played back the scenes of the battle so far, he has been unable to get in her guard, and all of her attacks have been near misses due to his inability to use the light side of the force.

He watched as the women flashed a sadistic smile at him. Suddenly he felt something hot boiling inside him, then he came to a conclusion. If he can't use the light side to fight this Sith, he will use the next thing that is all around him-the dark side.

He gathered up all the force he could and launched at the women. She blocked and parried with her one blade. He used his raw emotions to drive his moves, his attacks. Swiping up high, then low, to the right, then high again. He then sent a blow that she block, but was so powerful that it pushed her back several meters.

The women ignited the second blade to her weapon, and started spinning it again, create that shield of red energy. He jumped forward and brought a blow crashing down on her from above. She had brought one of her blades up just in time to block it, and push him back a few feet.

He attempted a leg slash which was blocked by a blade from her weapon. The blades still connected she spun the hilt of her lightsaber around almost throwing Suji's lightsaber from his hand. She spun around and released a kick aimed at Suji's face. He brought his arm around just in time to block the kick. Using one of her hands to balance, the women spun on her hand bringing her lightsaber skidding across 

the ground towards his legs. Still holding back her kick he lifted his legs off the ground long enough for the two blades to pass below him then brought his feet back to the ground.

Release his lightsaber from his grip he used both his hands to grab the women's leg, pick her up, and throw her at his ship. The force of his physical throw was greater than he thought. The women tried to slow her speed but it didn't work. She slammed into the metal side of the ship and fell to one knee.

Her back splitting with pain, Zannah tried to use the force to subdue the pain. The mans throw was more intense than she had thought it was going to be. This Jedi realized that he was going to loose since he could not use the light side of the force on this planet, so he switched to the dark side. Something that Zannah did not expect. He was using the dark side energy around them to give him a fighting chance.

She realized that this battle was becoming even. Her master would not wait long until he left the planet. She had to decide, continue fighting this Jedi and risk her master leaving with her, or leave the battle. If she left, what would her master think?

After thinking it over for a few seconds, she realized that the duties with her master were more important than killing this Jedi. She shut down her lightsaber and using the power of the dark side, sprinted off towards the ship where her master was more than likely irritated waiting for her.


	5. Chapter 5: Temptation

Chapter Five: Temptation

Suji shut down is lightsaber as he watched the women vanish in the distance. His rage at being mocked, made fun of, and underestimated slowly dying as his breathing slowed. During the time he had chosen to use the power around him to fight, he had lost control of his breathing, breathing rapidly, and only using his emotions to fight.

The lightsaber slipped from his hand and clattered on the sandy ground beneath his feet. He fell to his knees and started to mumble. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry"

The thought of what he had done, giving into the dark side like that-even just for a little bit, had disgraced his dead masters trust, and faith in him. He was a Jedi Knight, not a Sith…so why did the dark side while he used it feel more natural than foreign? Why had it been so much easier for him to control? Was it due to the fact that he was surrounded by the energies of the dark side? Or was it something else…something deeper? Beyond his understanding?

His arms fell to his sides, when he felt something on his belt. He moved his robe aside and noticed the double bladed lightsaber he had discovered near the headless body of that person in the library like chamber. He unclipped it from his belt and held it out in front of him. Something about it…felt right.

He shook his head to clear his mind of those thoughts and clipped it back on his belt. He reached over to grab his own lightsaber, and 

clipped that on the other side of his belt. He stood up and looked in the direction the women had run off to.

Inside the temple he had sensed two dark side beings. Of course it was completely possible that with his ability to use the light side of the force so diminished here that he could have just imagined the second being, or it could have been a projection of the dark side energies the planet was giving off.

Either way, a Sith lived, and him being a Jedi, it was his duty to see this Sith destroyed in order to preserve galactic order. He turned his full body to face the direction she had ran. Why did she run? Was it because she was sensing the battle slipping out of her control? Or was it something else?

He started gathering up the force to make a powerful sprint in the direction she had ran, when the shape of a ship appeared in the direction. It was rising steadily into the air.

Zannah arrived back at the ship seconds after leaving the Jedi. She walked up the loading ramp which was still down and hit the switch to bring it back up and to close the hatch. She had expected to find her master impatiently waiting for her, but she saw no sign of him upon entering the ship.

She made her way to the lounge area, nothing. She then made her way to the cockpit. When she opened the door she saw the back of her master, sitting at the control panel of the ship. He was staring at a projection map of a ring of planets. If he had noticed her in the doorway, he made no sign to suggest it.

"Master, have you picked out our next destination?" she asked walking up behind him but keeping her distance.

After ten years of training under Darth Bane, she had learned not to get close to him when his back was turned.

"Yes" he answered.

He indicated a planet with his finger. "Put in the coordinates to this planet" he ordered as he stood up from the chair and walked out of the cockpit.

Zannah took the seat that her master had just vacated and punched in the coordinates. It was a planet in the Outer Rim territory. She keyed the ships engines on and began the lift off of the planets barren surface. As the ship lifted off the ground, her thoughts went to the battle she had just got out of.

Zannah herself was very strong with the dark side, not as strong as her master, but she was strong in it. That Jedi made the transition from light to darkness with ease. His control of the dark side was very impressive for a Jedi of all people. For people who pride themselves on serving the light and fighting the darkness, he gave himself to it very easily.

The man was a few years younger than she was, she could tell just by looking at him. Perhaps…No, she thought. That time will come eventually, and when it does, she was certain that she would find someone better than him.

As the ship got higher into the air she could sense the Jedi about to move and follow her. It was pointless now, she thought. By the time he 

got to where they were landed, they would be gone. By the time he got back to his ship and geared everything up, they would be far beyond his tracking system aboard his ship.

Zannah looked out of the cockpit window in time to see the Jedi's ship become nothing but a spec as they moved out of the planets atmosphere and into the dark reaches of space.


	6. Chapter 6: Padawan

Chapter Six: Padawan

Suji watched as the ship vanished from the planets sky. He stood there for several moments before turning to his ship. Walking up the loading ramp and into the cockpit he flicked on the ships engines. He sat in the pilots chair, leaned backwards and let out a deep, long sigh.

He had expected this mission to Korriban to be uneventful, just to get to the temple, see if there was anything there that could be of value to the Jedi, then blow it up.

Instead he had arrived, checked the temple, set his charges, fought a Sith, watched as the Sith ran away, and now he was about to blow the temple like academy to pieces.

With his right hand he reached down next to his seat and pulled out a switched attached to a circuit board. He stared at it for several seconds before grabbing the control yolk with his left hand and brining the ship off the ground. When he was about twenty meters in the air, he flipped the switch.

The once fabled Sith Academy on Korriban vanished in a massive explosion of smoke, fire, and pieces of the temple. The explosion lasted a few seconds before it ended, leaving nothing but a massively thick cloud of black smoke streaming up to the sky.

He punched in the coordinates for Coruscant into the hyperspace drive and put the ship on auto pilot. He stood up from the pilots chair and walked across the very short hall to the lounge area. The lounge area 

was very small, had a miniature fridge in the left corner of the room, a couch against the wall directly across from the doorway; and a small bathroom that branched off from the area.

He walked over and got a refreshment out of the fridge and fell down on the couch. He couldn't get the thought of how he had used the dark side so well, even though he had never once tried to delve into it. He also couldn't get over the feeling he had felt while the dark side was coursing through him he felt…good. Better than he had ever felt, he felt free, like he could do anything, challenge anyone, that his power had no limits. But everyone's power has limits, he thought to himself. Even the greatest of Jedi Masters-and even Sith Masters have limits.

His mind trailed back to the Sith he fought. Several days ago and group of Jedi Knights, and two Jedi Masters traveled to Ambria to arrest a survivor of the thought bomb, a Sith Lord who had killed several Jedi in a temple on Tython. The Jedi Knights and Master had come back victorious, having killed the Sith Lord. If they had truly killed the Sith Lord they were sent there to arrest or kill, then was the women he fought truly a Sith? Or was it merely someone with an affinity for the dark side, with a lightsaber pretending to be a Sith?

These thoughts raced through his head. How many other Sith survived Ruusan? If merely one Sith lived, that Sith could bring together another army, then they would have a repeat of the Sith Wars all over again. Even now, ten years after the Sith Wars ended on Ruusan with the detonation of the thought bomb, the galaxy was still recovering from the ramifications the war had caused.

Several planets were beyond saving or return from the ramifications. Those planets had been overrun with Sith before the end of the war. 

The Sith had pillaged villages, cities, and civilizations. They were brutal monsters that could not be allowed to prosper again.

Even monsters learn from their mistakes, Suji thought. If the Sith try once again to destroy the Jedi, they will most likely do so in a slightly different manor than Kaan and his Brotherhood did. He popped open the top of his drink and took a big gulp. The liquid was ice cold traveling down his throat.

Hundreds of Jedi and Sith were destroyed with the thought bomb on Ruusan. That loss was still weighing heavily on the Jedi Order. The Order itself has made a near full recovery. But some of the Jedi that fought in that war and lived to tell about it; they were still recovering. Suji's Jed Master Rans was one of the many to perish on Ruusan. He still missed his Master deeply. But had kept his grief contained for most of the ten years following his death.

He let out a heavy sigh. "_There is no emotion; there is peace"_ he mumbled remembering the Jedi Code.

He remembered back to his teachings under his old Master when he had first become a Padawan learner.

"_There is no emotion; only peace. This is the first lesson the Jedi Code has to offer" Jedi Master Ran explained to his new Padawan learner. _

_His Padawan raised his hand, as he had learned to do while training in classes. "Master" the young Suji of 10 years old said._

"_Yes?" Ran replied._

"_But that can't be" Suji commented. "There will always be emotion. Emotions are impossible to completely get rid of, they are a part of us, aren't they?" he asked._

_Ran smiled. "Yes, yes, very true my young Padawan" he replied. "However, it is up to the Jedi to control these emotions and keep them from interfering with his judgment. That is why Jedi are taught not to get attached to people, cause the emotions they feel for them could impair their judgment or cause them to do things they otherwise would not do" he explained._

"_But not all emotions are bad" the Padawan replied. "Aren't emotions like happiness, and joy good?"_

"_You ask a lot of questions for such a young one" Ran commented with a slight laugh. "But you are right. Not all emotions are bad. However, even the positive emotions must be set aside as often as they can be. For even the most positive of emotions, given the right circumstance, can instantly become negative emotions that may lead one to the dark side" he explained. "You do not understand it now, young one. But in time, you will come to understand and accept what must be accepted"_

Suji was woken from his flashback by a chime from the cockpit signaling he had arrived at the heart of the Republic, and was coming up on Coruscant. He got up from the couch and walked to the cockpit and sat down in the pilots chair. He switched off the autopilot and took manual control.

He brought the ship into the planets atmosphere. The change of scenery was nice to him. He had gone from a barren wasteland, to the emptiness of space, to a metal jungle. Massively tall buildings reaching 

to the very tip of the sky, vehicles flying all around; the City was as alive as it was a few days ago when he had left for his mission.

He brought his ship around several buildings and went through several lanes of air traffic until he saw the five spires of the Jedi Temple in the distance. Seeing the temple always seemed to calm him somehow; perhaps it was the symbol of peace, and power that it represented. Either way, he always enjoyed look at the Jedi Temple.

He brought his ship down and docked it as close to the entrance of the temple as he could get. He shut down the engines and climbed out of the cockpit. He opened the loading hatched and lowered the ramp. At the foot of the ramp was someone he remembered as a member of the Jedi Council: Jedi Master Hut Gan. He was a green skinned alien with a horn coming out of his forehead that curved upward towards the sky; his narrow blue eyes, which were a rarity for his species, were a beautiful shade of blue. He stood a meter and a half tall, and was always seen with his Jedi Masters robe.

He ascended down the ramp and bowed once he reached Hut Gan. The Jedi Master bowed back. "Welcome back, Jedi Knight Suji" he greeted in a high pitched voice.

"Thank you, master" Suji replied straightening up. "May I ask why you have chosen to personally greet me?" he asked. "I'm not usually greeted upon my return from missions" he added.

A green smile spread across the Jedi Masters face. "Yes, well, I have something I wish to discuss with you" he answered signaling for Suji to follow him.

Suji obeyed the signal and followed the Jedi Master to the massive entrance of the Jedi Temple. They walked through the entrance to see man different species wearing brown robes walking around everywhere: all Jedi's.

"This way" the Jedi Master said leading Suji away from the Entrance Hall.

He followed the Master down another long hall until he stopped outside of a door. "In here" the Master said as the door opened.

Suji, a little confused walked through the doorway. The room was a small chamber, probably a chamber for one who lived in the temple. There were to chairs in a corner of the room. The Jedi Master walked over and sat down in one. Suji sat down in the one opposite the Jedi Master.

"You have progressed well" The Jedi Master began. "You have gone from a Padawan with limited to no experience, to one of the most prominent Jedi Knights in the Order" he went on. "You have gained much knowledge since Master Rans death on Ruusan. You have gained much knowledge, skill, and experience. Most importantly, your understanding of the living force has grown far more than the Council had hoped for.

"Jedi Master Ran always spoke very highly of you before his regrettable end. As you are well aware, Rans was offered a spot on the Jedi Council soon before accepting you as his Padawan learner. He had turned the offer down, stating that he would rather not join the council, that it was an honor to be offered the position; but it was not for him. Even though 

he denied the invitation, we continued to hold him with high honor, and greatly value his opinion on matters" the Jedi Master continued.

"Yes, my Master told me he was once offered a position on the council" Suji replied remembering when his Master had told him of when he had denied it.

"Yes, well, the council is not meant for all Jedi" the Master replied. "After Rans death on Ruusan, I took it upon myself to help you along the path to becoming a Jedi Knight, like Rans had always wanted for you. He did not say so, but I think that his true reason for turning down a position on the council was so he could use all his energy to train you" he smiled. "And he was right to put all his time into training you, you've formed into one of the best Knights in the Order as I have stated before" he stood up and walked over to Suji.

Suji watched as the Jedi Master placed his hand on his shoulder. "It is time that you take the next step in your own training, as well as another's" he said.

There was a single knock at the door and the Jedi Master turned and said. "Enter"

A young girl walked in, she looked to be about thirteen in age, and a meter in height. She had long flowing brown hair, and a beautiful shade of green eyes. Suji stood up as the Jedi Master walked over behind the young girl and place both hands on her shoulders. "Jedi Knight Suji, meet, Padawan Learner Sam" he introduced. "Padawan Learner Sam, meet Jedi Knight Suji"

Sam bowed, and Suji slightly bowed back. "May I ask what is going on, master?" Suji asked now really confused.

"A Jedi Knight can go through battle after battle, day after day of meditating, and year after year of experience. But a Jedi's true training begins when he takes another under his wing" the Jedi Master explained. "This will be your Padawan Learner, Suji" the Jedi Master added seeing the confused look on Suji's face.

Suji was frozen stiff. A Padawan Learner? For him? Was he ready to pass on his knowledge to a new generation of the Jedi? Was he prepared to take this step? What if he failed teaching this young girl?

"I am honored to be learning under you, master" Sam said bowing once again.

"I can tell by your look that you have confused emotions about this change" the Jedi Master said noticing Suji's blank expression. "Sam, wait outside for a moment" he said to the young girl.

She bowed to the Jedi Master, then again at Suji and walked out of the room. The door slid shut behind her.

"What is troubling you?" the Master asked taking a few steps towards Suji. He placed his hand on Suji's Shoulder. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure I am ready for this step, master" Suji admitted. "I admit that it is a great honor to be offered an apprentice, but I'm not sure that I can train her right. I am merely a Jedi Knight of five years experience" he added. "I don't know if I'm ready"

The Jedi Masters green lips curled up into a sympathetic smile. "I thought the same when I was offered my first apprentice" he replied. "I was exactly like you, worried that I was not ready, and scared that I would fail the youngling and disappoint those who believed in me 

enough to offer me a Padawan Learner" he explained. "But then my Master told me something that is very true, and has been passed down from generation to generation of Jedi: a Jedi's true training begins when training another. Taking a Padawan Learner is training in itself, you must trust in your ability to bestow the wisdom of the force in them, and show them the ways of the force" he went on.

"A Jedi's true training begins in training another" Suji repeated.

"You have the knowledge, the experience, and the wisdom to train a good apprentice Suji" the Jedi Master said squeezing Suji's shoulder slightly. "Me and the rest of the council have faith in you, like your Master before us" he released his hold on Suji's shoulder and turned to the door.

He paused as he was about to open the door. "Have faith in yourself Suji" the Master said. "You will do fine" with that he opened the door and walked out into the hall.

Sam slowly walked in after a few seconds, the door slid shut behind her. She had her head lowered to the ground. "I'm sorry" she muttered in almost a whisper. "I don't mean to a burden"

Suji sighed and walked over to her. She kept her head down, he could easily tell that she was feeling like she was going to be a hindrance to him. He placed his hand on her head. She looked up at him. "Your training begins tomorrow, get some rest and meet in the Entrance Hall at first days light" he said.

She beamed a bright smile at him and shook her head yes. "I'll be there, master" she said bowing.

She left the room and the door closed behind her. Suji stood in the room alone now. His mind racing. His own apprentice…his to train, and to pass his knowledge to; and most of all, he was given this Padawan directly from the Jedi Council.

He made up his mind at that moment. He was going to try his best to bestow the values of the ways of the force into his Padawan, and teach her as his Master had taught him. He walked over to a window in the room and click the metal blinds open. The sun was setting already. Tomorrow he would start his first day with his apprentice. But for the time being, he needed to meditate on everything that has happened; the good, and the mysterious.


	7. Chapter 7: The Search Begins

Chapter Seven: The Search Begins

Bane sat cross legged in the lounge of the _Loranda_ meditating. All his power and strength had now returned to him, he was now once again, Darth Bane, Dark Lord of the Sith. Now that he was fully recovered he needed to work on creating his own holocron to store all his knowledge and wisdom in.

He meditated with Belia Darzu's holocron sitting on the floor in front of him, not activated. Bane had decided that he needed to meditate on the information he had previously acquired from the holocron before going back in to learn more.

The reason his attempts to make a holocron had failed in the past was because he was missing the capstone, which was required to maintain the cognitive network and prevent it from degrading. Without that critical piece, he would never succeed in building a holocron. Bane had to learn more about the capstone and where to locate one before he could try another attempt to make a holocron.

Bane slowly opened his eyes. He used the power of the dark side to turn the holocron on, and continue his learning. The image of Belia Darzu appeared before him. She spoke where she had left off when Bane had deactivate the holocron back on Tython.

"In order to capture ones essence into the capstone and trap the cognitive network with in it as well, you must invoke the Rite of Commencement, a very, very difficult ritual of the Sith. A ritual that can 

only be done by the most powerful and most strongest in the dark side" she explained. "Once the Rite of Commencement has been done successfully you can put all the knowledge that you require into it and create the information that will be transmitted through your holocron"

Bane sat still soaking in every word she spoke. The Rite of Commencement seemed to be a very difficult Sith Ritual, a ritual he had never heard of before viewing this holocron.

As Belia's image began to explain how to perform the Rite of Commencement the _Loranda _jerked suddenly, and caused Bane to loose his focus. Angry he shut the hologram down and walked out of the lounge and into the cockpit. "What was that?" Bane snarled as he walked behind Zannah who was in the pilots seat.

"We've run into an asteroid field, master" she replied as rocks of all sizes began to close in on them. "Your planet that you had me program into the autopilot is on the very edge of the Outer Rim and has a massive asteroid field protecting it" she explained as she tried to avoid as much of the space rocks as she could.

Bane stared at the asteroid field, using the force he looked past the obstacle to his goal. The planet Byss, a myth of a planet, with no official records of its existence. The perfect home for anyone trying to hide, and the perfect spot to practice rituals and other things that would otherwise draw attention on other planets.

The _Loranda_ was being hammered by asteroids on all sides, jerking the ship in all directions. Bane used the force to encase the ship in a cocoon of dark side energy which repelled the rocks away from the ships hull.

The glue glow of the planet got bigger as they neared its atmosphere. It was easy for Zannah to navigate through the asteroid field after Bane put up the cocoon of dark side energy to repel the rocks. Zannah decreased the speed of the ship. "Entering the planets atmosphere" she said flipping a few switches on the control panel.

Bane watched as they entered the planets atmosphere. The planet which has always been regarded as a myth, a non-existent planet, was all his for the taking now. The planet was a paradise. It had clear blue oceans and lush green forests on islands and other large land masses. Creatures of the sky flew past them as they neared the surface. "Nice place" Zannah commented as she looked at the clear blue ocean they were above.

"Remember this location" Bane said folding his arms across his chest with a grin on his face. "This is our new home"

Zannah scanned the planet for any life forms that could pose a threat to them. "The planet seems to be uninhabited" she commented. "At least uninhabited by any intelligent species" she added.

"Exactly" Bane replied. "We are perfectly isolated out here on this myth of a planet. We are free to practice anything we want here and not have to worry about drawing attention and potentially giving out our secret to anyone" he explained.

"How did you find this place, master?" she asked clearly interested.

"I found this location in an ancient book written by Darth Revan at the academy back on Korriban" he answered. "I never had reason to go here until now" he added.

Zannah brought the ship down in a field surrounded by a dense forest. She flicked the switch to bring out the landing gear and brought it down slowly. The ship shuttered a little as it touched ground. She powered down the engines and stood up to see her master was already gone from the cockpit.

She walked out of the cockpit and to the loading ramp which had already been lowered. Her master stood at the foot of the ramp looking around in all directions. She slowly made her way down the ramp.

The planet was more peaceful than she had thought. She had expected her master to pick another planet that was as dark as Ambria-but this place was anything but dark. Lush green forests surrounded them from all sides, the sound of birds and other creatures of the planet could be heard in the air. The air here was a lot cleaner and more pure than any other plane they had been to.

The purity of the air at first almost made her want to vomit. In her time with her master, they had mostly spent their time on planets with poor air, air tainted with the dark side, she had grown use to that. But this air had no hint of darkness in it. She wondered why her master had picked this planet, there had to be other planets as isolated from the rest of the galaxy as this.

Bane closed his eyes, seemingly to concentrate. Zannah felt a chill run down her spine for a moment before realizing what was happening: her master was pouring the dark side into the air. Polluting the air with the tainted feel of the dark side of the force.

Bane took a deep breath, breathing in the newly tainted air. He spun around to face his apprentice. "I have a mission for you" he said reaching into his black robe.

"Yes master?" she asked.

Bane pulled out a piece of parchment with a drawing on it. A very detailed drawing. "This is the component I need to successfully make a holocron, it's a capstone. A dark crystal that can only be found on a certain planet, a planet completely consumed by the dark side of the force" he explained. "The coordinates to the planet are written here" he pointed below the drawing. "Go and get me a capstone, do not return until you have successfully acquired one" he demanded.

"Yes, master" Zannah replied taking the piece of parchment from her master and heading back to the ship.

She did not need to ask what he was going to do while she was gone. He was most likely going to continue studying that holocron and learn how to complete a holocron successfully.

She boarded the ship, closing the loading ramp as she did so. She sat in the pilots chair inside the cockpit and typed in the coordinates her master had given her. She fired up the ships engines and lifted off the ground. She took one last look out the cockpit window, and saw her master sitting in a meditating position, with the familiar shape of Belia Darzu's holocron sitting on the ground in front of him.

Turning her head away she brought the ship out of the planets atmosphere and headed towards the destination given to her by her master.


	8. Chapter 8: Master and Apprentice

Chapter Eight: Master and Apprentice

Suji sat in his room, legs crossed, in a meditative position. His eyes closed, releasing his mind to the force, and to the peace that it brought to him.

He could feel that the sun was about to give first light to Coruscant, meaning that soon he would have to go and meet his new apprentice in the Entrance Hall in the Jedi Temple.

Suji had tried to get some sleep after meeting his new apprentice, but sleep only came in the form of nightmares. His mind constantly played the fight with that Sith in his head. No matter how much he meditated, or how much he tried to forget, the images always found their way back into his head. It wasn't so much the fight that troubled him it was the fact that he had used the dark side of the force. Something that he had sworn to his deceased Master that he would never do.

If he Master could see him now, what would he think of him? Would he classify Suji as a failure? A mistake? Or a simply defaulted Jedi Knight? These questions plagued his mind like a sickness. Every time he thought of an answer to one of the many questions running through his mind, he always found the answer to be negative: He would be ashamed of me; he would label me a defaulted Jedi Knight; he would see me as a failure; these were the answers that kept coming up.

A sudden knock on the door brought him out of his meditation and his state of confusion. He stood up and walked to the door. When he 

opened it he saw familiar face. Jedi Knight Rin Kosh, she and Suji had been friends ever since they became Padawans at about the same time. She was a Twi'lek, with red skin. She spoke in a soft voice. "I hear you have an apprentice"

Suji sighed and moved aside so she could walk in. She walked in and the door closed behind her. She had on a traditional Jedi's robe. "Yeah, you heard right" he finally said after letting out another sigh.

"You don't seem too happy about it" she noticed. "Don't want one?"

"It's not that I don't want one" he walked over to his window where the shades were open. "I just don't know if I'm ready or not"

She walked up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I've been saying for several years that you are ready. You just have to believe in yourself and your abilities" she said in a gentle voice.

He looked out at the brightening sky. "We've been friends for over ten years now" he started. "We've been completely honest with each other about everything, right?"

"I have" she answered. "And I'm sure you've been as honest as you can be. Some of us can't be completely honest, it's not in our nature, or something we are capable of" she gently squeezed his shoulder. "There's something bothering you" she said in a worried voice.

Suji wanted to tell her about what happened on Korriban, he wanted to more than anything…but the fear of what she would think of him held him back from saying it. He closed his eyes briefly to focus, then turned to her and grabbed her hand from his shoulder. Holding her hand 

gently in his he said. "It's nothing, I'll tell you some other time" he smiled.

The first ray of sunlight came in his room from the outside. He glanced out his window. "I've got to meet my apprentice now" he said releasing her hand from his. He could feel her eyes on his back as he walked to the door. "Suji"

He turned around and without warning she flung her arms around him and kissed him softly on the lips. He knew he had to push her away, he had to stop this, this was not the Jedi way-but he was consumed by this feeling. His stomach felt empty, his mind blank, all he could feel was the soft touch of his lips against hers, and her arms wrapped around the back of his neck. His eyes closed as she held the kiss, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tightly against him.

After several seconds, which felt like minutes to him, she released the kiss and pulled her head back a few inches. She still had her arms wrapped around him as he had his wrapped around her. He stared into her hazel eyes as she stared into his. "Be careful" she whispered.

"I will" he replied in the same gentle whisper. "You be careful too" he added.

They released each other and she walked out of the room. He stood there for a minute, contemplating what had just happened. No attachments, that was one of the most important things the Jedi Masters stressed to their students. Attachment leads to jealousy, which is the shadow of greed, and will lead one to the dark side.

"Sam" he said remembering his apprentice who was waiting for him in the Entrance Hall.

He spun around and walked out of the room with a steady fast pace. The whole way to the Entrance Hall his mind replayed, not the Sith battle, but the intimate moment that he had just experienced with Rin. He should have pushed her away, he should have refused the pleasure-but he couldn't do it. It felt too good, too wonderful to push away.

When he finally reached the Entrance Hall he found Sam, his apprentice waiting in the corner of the massive hall. Tapping her boot impatiently on the ground. When he reached her she gave him an annoyed look. "You're late" she said.

"Yeah, sorry" he apologized. "Something came up"

Sam smiled. "Oh, well" she said. "You're here, so we can start my training, right?" she asked.

"Right" Suji replied.

As he was about to start training her a Jedi walked over to him. "Jedi Knight Suji" the man said.

"Yes?" Suji replied turning to face the man.

"Jedi Master Hut has requested you two to meet him in his study" the Jedi answered.

"Us?" Suji asked.

"You and your apprentice" the Jedi answered.

"Right" Suji said with a sigh. "Well come on" he motioned for his Padawan to follow.

The Jedi lead them to Master Huts study chamber. He left them at the door, Suji knocked only once before a reply came. "Enter" the voice commanded.

Suji entered first, Sam right at his heels. "You requested our presence, master" Suji bowed, Sam bowed as well.

"Ah, yes" Master Hut said standing up from his desk and walking over to them; his green skin showing in the shadowy room.

"Um, excuse me, master" Sam said to the Jedi Master.

"Yes?" Hut replied.

"If this is your study…then why is it so dark in here?" she asked confused.

"Oh, yes" Hut said with a slight laugh. "My species have better night vision than day vision. We see better under shadowy or dark circumstances. Our eyes are perfectly find during the day, but we prefer the night over the day" he explained.

"I'm sorry, master" Sam said bowing again.

"No need, I get that question quiet a lot" Hut assured her. "It is I who must apologize for calling you two here on such short notice"

"That's fine, master" Suji replied. "What can we do for you?"

"Well, I have an assignment for the two of you" Hut answered walking back and sitting down at his desk, turning his chair to face the two Jedi. "There is a situation on the planet Alpha Nine"

"Alpha Nine?" Suji repeated. "Never heard of it"

"Not surprising, the planet is beyond the Republics borders, so it is not usually known to those inside the ring of the Republic" Hut explained. "There is a terrorist group forming on the planet that we have been assigned to handle"

"Excuse me for saying so, master" Suji chimed in. "But if this planet is beyond the Republics borders, than do the Jedi even have any authority over this matter?" he asked.

"Right you are" Hut answered. "However, this is a matter that must be deal with, quickly, and covertly. Without public knowledge, and not on the records"

"Why is this terrorist group so important?" Suji asked.

"We have reason to believe that this terrorist group is filled with users of the dark side" Hut answered.

"But weren't all the Sith destroyed on Ruusan?" Sam asked.

"Yes, well we thought so too, but the incident several days ago-which I'm sure you know of Suji. Has shown us that at least one Sith Lord survived the Ruusan incident. If one survived, there's a possibility that more have as well" Hut explained. "However, whether these are Siths or just people with an affinity for the dark side, we have yet to find out. All we know is that many of the terrorists in this group have dark side power within them" he added.

"And you want us to go and check this out" Suji suggested.

"Precisely" Hut replied. "This will be your first mission together" he said indicating Suji and Sam. "The most precious bond a Jedi has besides the force, is the bond between Master and Apprentice. This is your chance 

to start that bond, learn from each other, use the others successes as well as their failures to learn from" he explained. "You are to leave immediately"

Suji and Sam both bowed. "Yes, master"


	9. Chapter 9: Different Path

Chapter Nine: Different Path

_Everyone piled into the transports ready to head off planet and to the safety of the orbiting ships above. Jedi of all status, Padawan, Knight, and Master were all getting in transports. General Hoth had ordered everyone else besides specific Jedi he chose to stay behind off the planet of Ruusan. _

_Suji, merely only eleven years old pushed his way opposite the crowd trying to break free from the Jedi trying to pile past him. He shoved, pushed, weaved, and sidestepped his way through the mass until he saw who he was looking for: His Master._

_He ran to his Master and grabbed his arm. "Come on" Suji pleaded trying to pull his Master into the crowd and towards the safety of the transports. _

_His Master gently pried Suji's hands off his arm and placed his hands on Suji's shoulders. "You go" he said. "I have been chosen by General Hoth to assist him in ending this bloodbath war" he smiled. "You go"_

"_No" Suji shot back. "I won't leave you behind, I can't!" he yelled not wanting to leave his Master._

_His Master signaled another Jedi Master over. "Be sure he gets on the transport safely" he told the other Jedi._

"_Of course" the other Jedi replied as he picked Suji off the ground._

_He fought as hard as he could to break free from the Jedi Masters grip, but it was no use. He watched as his Master, along with the rest of Jedi Master Hoths group, walked to their inevitable doom._

"Master" a voice called out. "Master, wake up"

Suji stirred awake. Rubbing his eyes he looked around. He had nodded off on their way to the docking bay. A quick nap-one he wished he had not had.

His Padawan, Sam sat next to him staring at him with a concerned expression. "What?" he asked.

"You were moaning in your sleep" she answered. "You said 'I won't forgive him' and other things" she added.

Suji was silent.

"Who won't you forgive?" she asked curiously.

"Never you mind, young one" he replied.

The transport they were on docked at the docking bay and the hatch opened up in the side with a ramp so they could disembark. Suji got up first and with long strides, made his way down the ramp. "Wait up!" he heard his apprentice call from behind him.

Sam was about a meter in height, she was able to catch up to her Master, but had to jog a little to keep the distance between them minimal.

Suji was walking at a brisk pace to where his ship was docked. While he was walking the dream he had just had kept flashing before him. Him watching as the man who was more like a father than a Master walked 

off to his death. All because of General Hoth. He blamed Hoth for taking his Master away-taking his father away. He loved his Master like a father, and Hoth had brainwashed him into following him to his death!

He started to grind his teeth at the mere thought of how foolish Hoth had been, willingly marching all those Jedi to their deaths. He stopped grinding his teeth only when he noticed Sam watching him intently from his side.

He took steady breathes to calm himself, collect himself, and to banish these feelings from his mind. He had a mission, and could not let his emotions impair his ability to perform the task given to him.

After a minute longer of walking they finally reached Suji's ship. He used the force to lower the ramp and open the hatch. "Inside you go" he told his apprentice.

Sam nodded and walked up the ramp into the ship. Suji followed right behind her, closing the ramp and hatch as he made his way inside. He walked to the cockpit and took his seat in the pilots chair. Sam sat in the co-pilots chair next to him.

He keyed in the coordinates for Alpha Nine, punched in his personal access code to ignite the engines of the ship. "What do we do until we get to the planet?" she asked.

"We start your training" he replied.

On Byss, Darth Bane, Dark Lord of the Sith sat in his meditative position, reflecting on all he had learned from the holocron. He now knew how to perform the Rite of Commencement; however, the risks if he were to make a mistake were great, perhaps too great for him to attempt it.

Was he afraid of the possible consequences of a mistake during the ritual? Was he, Dark Lord of the Sith, afraid? The very thought of him being afraid of something made his blood come to a steady boil-but even a Sith Lord is not beyond the grip of fear. Bane was the only Dark Lord of the Sith living, he had to work past his fear to complete his ultimate goal aside from the Rule of Two.

Bane opened his eyes slowly gazing up at the sky. Until Zannah returned with the capstone, Bane could only meditate and wait.

The _Loranda _came out of hyperspace a few parsecs from Alpha Nine, the planet her master had given here where she could find a capstone. The planet was very visible from where Zannah was flying from. A planet made completely out of metal, with no natural resources The air that made the planet breathable and habitable came from many generators placed through out the world that circulated artificial oxygen across the planet.

The planet was inhabited by all kinds of species; a mixture of the entire galaxy you could say. It had at least one of every species on it. The planet also had every type of business you were looking for: trading, smuggling, bounty hunting, military, transporter, and many, many more.

Zannah chimed in to the ground patrol of the planet for docking confirmation. She received docking coordinates and the amount it would cost to keep her ship docked for her stay. On the back of the piece of parchment her Master had given her, there was a code linked to one of his secret accounts he had taken from the Brotherhood; a practically limitless supply of credits.

Zannah brought the _Loranda_ into the planets artificial atmosphere. She punched in the coordinates given to her by the ground patrol of the planet and the ship veered to the right upon entering the planets atmosphere, heading for the docking zone she had been assigned. The ground of the planet was more metal than she had thought. She had originally thought that the planet being made entirely of metal was an exaggeration-but now, the ground was one hundred percent solid metal; with no grass, trees, or planet life of any kind.

The planet vaguely reminded her of Coruscant, except this planet was much less peaceful. Alpha Nine was out of the Republics jurisdiction, so it had become a rallying point for anti-Republic groups and organizations. A breeding ground for terrorism against the Republic, but with them having no power this far, the Republic could do nothing to stop the growing terrorist groups from planning their attacks.

The _Loranda_ made its way through a busy city with massive buildings and vehicles flying every direction. At the very edge of the city she saw the docking zone she had been assigned. She switched to manual and brought the ship down perfectly on her zone. On all sides of her she was surrounded by other ships, all of various sizes and classes. From luxurious ships, to run down ones, and even star fighters were parked there.

When she landed she shut down the engines and engaged the loading ramp. She left her Sith robe on board in a compartment she had discovered hidden underneath one of the halls. Instead she through on a simple traveling cloak and memorized the code for the account she would need to buy anything.

When she reached the top of the loading ramp and looked down she was not surprised to see three people waiting for her. One man, the man in the middle, was a military looking man. With a military outfit, the chest of which was littered with stars and metals he had earned. He had a blue hat on with _Commander_ written on it with gold lettering, and stood as stiff as a board. The two men on either side of him were standard soldiers, blaster rifles in their hands, ready to fire, but held at ease at their side.

She proceeded down the ramp and stopped in front of the Commander. "Your credits ma'am" the commander demanded.

He held out a key pad in front of him, and Zannah punched in the code for the account. The commander looked at it, then shut it off. "Very well, welcome to Alpha Nine. You have paid for one full days docking, at this time tomorrow, if you have not left the planet or have not moved your ship you will be charged for another day up until the point of which you move it. If you cannot pay the fee then your ship will be towed, and you arrested. Do you understand?"

"Clearly" Zannah answered.

With a slight nod the Commander and his two soldiers marched away. She didn't plan to be on this planet any longer than she needed, one day should be plenty of time to get what she came here for. She started walking the streets of the city. On all sides of here there were stand set up, selling everything; from fruits and clothes, to weapons and ammunition.

Her Master had given her the planet for finding a capstone, but not the exact location. She had no idea where to start looking, so she started to 

browse at every stand that had exotic looking stones and gems, remembering what the capstone looked like. The moment she spotted one, she would know. She proceeded down several other streets, browsing as she went. She noticed as she was walking that several men were eyeing her. She was use to this, her beauty was great, and all men she could sense lusted after her. And many women gave her cold stares, obviously jealous of her captivating beauty. She could feel their jealousy she couldn't help but smile at their anguish they felt.

She decided to flip her hood up to cover most of her face in order to avoid any conflict that might arise. She wanted to leave this planet not get wrapped up in something because of her looks which had happened once before. She stopped in the middle of the street she was walking down. She sensed something, the power of the dark side was near, it was faint, but unmistakable. Was there someone on this planet with an affinity for the dark side? Wouldn't be surprising; her curiosity tried to get the best of her, but her devotion to the mission pulled her mind back to focus on the task at hand.

She closed her eyes and took a steady deep breath to calm herself, then continued searching for the elusive stone. She could also feel something else, something coming to the planet…two Jedi.

Suji brought his ship out of hyperspace quite a distance away from the planet. Sam sitting in the seat next to him. "Wow" she said. "It really is a plant of solid metal"

"Yeah" Suji replied keying in for landing zone confirmation. "This is transport vessel _Justice_ requesting permission to dock" he said into a com linked to the control board of the cockpit.

"Reason for visit, and estimated amount of days for docking" a voice called back.

"We are here to trade with local merchants, and our estimated days of docking two, if we stay longer we will be able to pay for additional days" Suji answered back.

"Number of passengers?" the voice asked.

"Two, me and my daughter" Suji answered back.

Sam smiled at his lie.

"Sending docking zone verification, collectors will be waiting for you to collection credits for two days work of docking" the voice finished.

"Right, thank you" Suji said shutting down the link.

"Daughter?" Sam couldn't help but asking.

"The Jedi technically have no authority out here, young one" Suji replied. "If we told them the truth, we would either be pushed aside and not allowed to dock, or allowed to dock but followed like outcasts" he explained. "This way, we will appear normal"

He stood up from his seat and opened a door in the wall. "Here" he said throwing Sam a pair of clothes.

"We're changing?" she asked.

"You don't learn quickly do you?" he asked. "If we go out there dressed like this, we might as well walk around with our lightsaber activated. They will know we are Jedi" he explained. "With these, we will look more normal"

She sighed. "Right"

It took Sam several minutes to change into her new clothes. They were wearing normal clothes, a nice clean t-shirt, a pair of nice pants, and a necklace for Sam.

Suji brought their ship down on the docking zone. They were parked next to a very luxurious ship. He glimpsed the name on the side: _The Loranda_.

As he sat up from the pilots chair he held out his hand. "Hand it over" he ordered.

"Hand what over?" she asked.

Suji let out a long, heavy sigh. "Your lightsaber. If we get noticed carrying them, that will also be a beacon" he replied.

She unclipped her lightsaber from her belt and handed it over to her Master. He unclipped his as well and stuffed them both away inside the pilots chair. They were met at by three men as they got off their ship. Suji gave him the account code for his personal credits. The credits were exchanged and the three men marched away in military fashion.

"Is your ship really named _Justice?_" Sam asked.

"Yes" Suji answered. "Now lets get to work" he added walking into the city.

"But we don't even know where to start" Sam commented walking at her Masters side.

"While you were training I received some data files from the Jedi Temple giving me possible locations where these groups may be 

hiding" he replied. "Remember Padawan, if we get roped into a battle, stay by my side, and follow my lead" he added.

"Yes, master" she replied.

"And stop calling me that while we're here, while we're here call me father to keep up with our cover story" he said.

"Yes, mas-I mean father" she corrected herself at the last moment.

"Good" he complimented with a smile. "Now to start our mission of information gathering"


	10. Chapter 10: Encounter

Chapter Ten: Encounter

Zannah spent over half of the day browsing stands looking for the elusive capstone, but had no luck finding one. She was starting to get impatient. How hard could this be to find? She kept asking herself as she surveyed stand after stand.

It was midday now, with the artificial sun light slowly coming to an end, and the cool embrace of darkness was soon to follow. She had no clue where to look next, she had tried reaching out with the force and trying to find it that way, trying to sense it's dark side energies, but it was a failure.

She mad her way down another street and started browsing stands again. If she was to find this capstone, she would have to do it fast, the longer it took her to retrieve it, the angrier her Master would become at her "lack of commitment" he would most likely call it. She had to find it before night set in, or else she would be in deep trouble.

Suji and Sam made their way down a busy merchants street, headed for a pub that Suji had been given as a possible location for information regarding the terrorist group and possible dark side users. They had spent a good majority of the day searching for this pub, with no success until Suji asked one of the merchants the location of the pub, and with enough credits, the alien gave him the direction.

Suji kept his mind open, and his senses fully aware of their surroundings, trying to find any trouble before it happened. This was 

not a nice place to be as the light began to fade from the sky. During the day this place seems like just a normal busy merchants market, but at night, it turns into a breeding ground for gangs and thugs.

Sam, who had never been to any planet besides Coruscant couldn't help but look at everything with a bright glitter in her eyes. She seemed to be enjoying her first time off Coruscant.

Suji couldn't help but smile at her glowing face as she watched all the things happening around them. She may be a Jedi Padawan, but she was still a ten year old kid. He started to think that perhaps she was too young to start real training. However, the decision of whether she was ready or not was not his to make, but the councils decision; and they had already made their decision when they have her to him.

They turned down several streets, following the merchants directions he had given them. Suddenly something made Suji stop walking. Not noticing her Masters sudden stop, Sam walked several feet passed him before finally noticing he had stopped. "Master?" she asked turning around.

Something made Suji look to his left at a stand being run by a slug like alien creature. He gazed down at the assortment of jewels and exotic crystals on display, when his attention froze on one crystal. The crystal was in the shape of a diamond, and was the blackest black that Suji had ever seen. Something about it, just looking at it sent a brief chill down his spine.

He too a deep soothing breath to calm himself. "Excuse me" he said to the slug alien. "What is that?" he indicated the crystal.

The slug creature looked at the crystal and spoke in a squeaky voice. "That would be something they call a capstone" the creature replied.

A capstone? Suji had never heard of such a stone before, he held his gaze on it for several moments before coming to a conclusion. "How much?" he asked.

"100,000 credits" the creature answered.

Suji paid the creature with the credits and grabbed the crystal. He didn't know why he felt so compelled to buy it, but something had forced him into grabbing it. "What's that, master?" Sam asked when she noticed him gazing at a crystal in his hand.

"I'm not sure" he replied. "The merchant said it was something called a 'capstone'" he added.

Sam seemed to be deep in thought. "A capstone…that rings a bell, but I can't think of where I heard that name before" she said.

Suji knew there was special about this crystal, but why he knew this, he did not know.

Zannah looked up into the sky as the light slowly began to fade more and more. The day was ending, and she needed to pick up her pace if she was to find her target. She made her way down another street passing several stands on the way, none of which looked like it had the capstone. She passed a slug merchant and made her way further down the street.

She fell into pace behind a man and what looked like his daughter or little sister. Either way, she didn't care, her attention was focused on looking at every stand she passed, trying to find the damn stone. She 

decided that these two people were slowing her down, so she walked around them, as she did so she noticed the man was holding something-the capstone!

She couldn't help but freeze for a fraction of a second before continuing moving. She needed to get that crystal She stopped at a stand and pretending to look at the merchandise being offered there. She glanced with her eyes, and the force at the man and girl. The man…he's the Jedi she fought on Korriban!

What was he doing here? And what was he doing with that crystal? The situation, she realized, has gotten more complicated. She couldn't risk a confrontation here, it would expose her and her Masters secret. She had to be discrete about this, and get the stone back with as little force as possible; while trying to keep her face hidden. She knew that the moment the Jedi saw her face, he would instantly recognize her.

She waited until the two passed her, and fell into step a few meters behind them. She needed to wait until the right moment, any moment sooner, then not only would she possibly fail, but her Master would be furious with her-and his wrath is something she did not want to face until she tried to kill him.

Suji couldn't help but to continue to gaze as the crystal from time to time as he and Sam made their way to the edge of the city. Something about this crystal kept forcing his gaze upon it. He had realized that it was not safe to walk around with this in his hand, so he had decided that they needed to get back to their ship and store it there.

They had a few days of docking before he had to pay for extra time, so they could waste a few hours heading back to their ship. Besides night 

was almost upon them, a time of day when he did not want to be on the streets without his lightsaber; and he did not want his apprentice to be out there during night either.

Once they reached their ship, Suji activated the boarding ramp and climbed aboard, Sam followed.

Once they were inside Suji placed the crystal in a secret compartment he had built into the wall. He walked into the tiny lounge area and sat down on the couch. Sam followed and sat down on a chair opposite the couch. "That was a productive day" Sam commented sarcastically.

"We still have a few more days of docking before I have to pay for extra time, so we have plenty of time" he gazed at where he had hid the crystal.

Sam sighed. "Tomorrow are we going to be able to find this pub that we are suppose to be going to?" she asked.

"Yes" Suji answered. "I don't want to be caught in those streets at night without my lightsaber, and I don't want you out there at night regardless of whether you have your lightsaber or not" he said. "Too dangerous"

Sam leaned backwards in the chair. "Okay" she breathed, slowly drifting off to sleep.

Zannah, hiding her presence with Sith Sorcery made her way quietly to the ship where the Jedi had walked into. Reaching out with the force for a brief instant she peered inside the ship. The girl was asleep, but the Jedi was awake. She quickly subdued her use of the force. If she was going to do this without causing a scene, she needed to keep her 

presence hidden until the very last moment if it became necessary for her to reveal herself.

She noticed that the _Loranda_ was parked right next to this ship. She decided to go back to her ship and wait until the Jedi was asleep and unaware, then, she would grab her stone-and if need be, kill the Jedi and the girl.


	11. Chapter 11: Sneaky

Chapter Eleven: Sneaky

Night had completely fallen on Alpha Nine. The streets were still ablaze with activity; street lights and lights from the towering buildings gave the people in the streets enough light to see, navigate and buy what they needed to buy.

Aboard the _Justice_ Sam had fallen asleep on the chair, exhausted from an exciting day of exploration around the major market of the planet. Across from her, Suji lay on the couch, not asleep, but merely staring at the ceiling.

He wanted to get some sleep, but his mind wouldn't let him; it kept playing certain events over and over: his fight with that Sith on Korriban and how he had used the dark side to fight; the embracing kiss that he and Rin shared together; the weird "capstone" crystal he had somehow been led to buy. Tomorrow he would have to get back on his mission, and not let anything distract him again.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to try and clear his mind of thought so he could sleep. He kept his eyes closed, trying to drift off to sleep. But no matter how hard he wanted it to come, sleep would not even so much as brush up against him. Feeling his efforts for sleep were pointless from this point on, Suji stood up and walked over to the cooling unit he kept his food and beverages in.

He popped open a can and sat down on the couch taking a big, long gulp of liquid out of the can. His eyes fell on his Padawan: she seemed 

constantly energetic when she was awake, when she was asleep, that seemed to be the only time she was truly relaxed and had a calm look.

She lay curled up on the seat of the chair. That can't be comfortable, Suji thought as he set his can down next to the couch. He stood up and gently lifted his young apprentice into his arms and carried her over to the couch. He gently put her down so she could stretch if she needed to. She didn't even stir as he picked her up, carried her, and put her back down.

"Sound sleeper" he muttered to himself walking out of the lounge.

He made his way to the cockpit and sat down in the pilots chair. He leaned back and closed his eyes again, if he had kept them open just a few moments longer, he may have noticed a figure walking towards his ship.

Zannah made her way through the darkness to the edge of the Jedi's ship. The longer she waited to get that crystal, the more upset her Master would be when she finally returned to Byss. She had to act now while she had the chance. She opened up a tiny pack that was attached to her belt and pulled out a pen like object.

Pressed the back of the pen shaped object, a very thin, very hot red energy beam came out of the tip. She aimed it at the side of the ships hull. It cut through the metal after a few moments of holding it on a certain spot, then slowly, she moved the object in a circular motion carving a circle just large enough for her to fit through in the side of the ship.

After the circle was cut, she shut the object down and put it back in her back. Using the force she gently removed the circular cut, and quietly 

placed it on the metal ground she was kneeling on. She had to limit her use of the force, less she be found out and a battle ensued.

She poked her head through the hole very slowly and looked to her left and right. No one was in sight. She pulled her head out and put her arms through the hole grabbing onto the inside of the ship. She pulled with her arms, and her body began to squeeze through the hole. She pulled herself in head first in case she saw anyone coming she could easily push herself out before she was spotted. Of course, they could notice the hole in the side of the ship even if she herself wasn't spotted. But luckily she made her way in undetected. She crouched down and made her way down the hall.

She had made it into the Jedi's ship, but now she had no clue where to start looking, and she constantly has to be on the alert in case someone was coming in her general direction. She continued to creep down the hall until she reached a doorway. She straightened up and put her back to the wall. She slowly moved her head to peek around the corner. It was some type of lounge area she guessed. There was a chair, a cooling unit of some kind, and the kid the Jedi had been with was sleeping on the couch.

She contemplated the risks and benefits for the girls survival. She decided to let the girl live, until she was given no other choice but to kill her. Seeing that she was alone in the room, Zannah made her way further down the hall.

She noticed another doorway, she did the same thing for this doorway too. Her back against the wall, she made her way to the very edge of the doorways reach, and peeked around the corner. The cockpit area, and the Jedi was sitting in the pilots chair, apparently asleep.

Zannah quickly considered killing the Jedi, but decided against it. What would the Jedi's death do for her? That was a question that had to have a positive answer if she was to kill him. No answer came, so she let it go.

She decided that with the Jedi asleep, that she could safely use the force to search the ship for any sign of the crystal. She reached out with the force and touched every object on the ship. Then she felt it, the crystal. It was hidden inside the wall near her position. Inside the cockpit.

Suji kept his eyes closed, sensing there was someone else in the room with him. He tried to reach out with the force to figure out who it was, but whoever it was, either had no affinity for the force or was masking it perfectly.

He opened his right eye just enough to see the person reflection in the cockpit window-the Sith!

At that moment he shot up without warning and activated his lightsaber he had at his side. The women reacted instantly spinning around and igniting her twin red blades from her single hilt. It was the same Sith he had fought back on Korriban. The women who used a double bladed lightsaber. "Sneaky witch, aren't you?" he said to the women.

The women moved slightly closer to the doorway. "It's you" was her response.

Suji held his lightsaber in front of him, blade pointed toward the ceiling. Readying himself to attack or defend at a moments notice."Our paths seem to keep crossing, Sith" he replied.

"I prefer not to see the same face twice" the women replied suddenly attacking him.

He deflected and parried her attacks as best he could. But they were in a confined space. The cockpit of his ship was relatively small. He was going to be cornered against the control panel in only a matter of seconds.

She used both blades of her weapon to drive him back further into the cockpit. Realizing that he was going to be cornered, then killed in only a moment. He gathered up the power of the force as quickly as he could and unleashed it in a powerful force push that shoved the Sith backwards several feet and into the doorway leading out into the hall.

Suji didn't give her time to recover, he leapt forward and aimed a jab at her chest. She parried it with one blade, and tried to cleave him in two with second. He ducked over the second blade and rolled just in time to avoid the opposite blade. He recovered from his desperate roll just in time to barrel roll out of another attack launched by the Sith.

He ended his roll by jumping back to his feet and spinning around to face the Sith. In one, fluid motion he spun around to face her and threw his lightsaber like a spear. The move seemed to catch her off guard, but not for long. She quickly sidestepped her way out of the way of the blue lightsaber which stabbed into the wall and stuck there.

That seemed smart at the time, but now he was facing a powerful Sith with a double bladed weapon-and he had just threw his weapon into the wall.

Zannah pressed on the attack. The foolish Jedi had actually tossed his weapon away, leaving him defenseless. The Jedi began to back up down 

the hall avoiding her attacks with the power of the force. He ducked out of a swipe from one of her blades that would have taken his head off, she reacted by spinning in a circle dragging her leg across the ground and kicking his feet out from under him.

He fell to the ground hard on his back. Zannah quickly straightened up and point one of the blades of her lightsaber at the Jedi's throat. She wanted to saver her victory. "You loose" she said as she brought the blade backwards a few inches to plunge it into the Jedi's neck.

However she hesitated. Why was he smiling? Suddenly the force snapped her head behind her. His blue lightsaber was flying right at her. She spun her whole body around and deflected the motion, driving the lightsaber to the ground and deactivating it. The next move happened so fast she couldn't do anything to stop it.

As soon as she deflected the lightsaber from striking her, out of the corner of her eye she saw the Jedi spring to his feet and then saw only a green blade of energy come mere inches from her throat. There could only be one explanation. He had a second lightsaber on him, and had been waiting for the right moment to bring it out.

She stood completely still, barely even breathing. "Drop it" the Jedi ordered.

She obeyed, deactivating her lightsaber and tossing it on the ground.


	12. Chapter 12: Hatred

Chapter Twelve: Hatred

Suji stood there, behind the Sith, the green blade of the lightsaber mere inches from gashing her throat wide open. The Sith had dropped her lightsaber after deactivating it as he had ordered. Now she stood perfectly still, he could tell that the surprise and shock his move had caused was now gone. He had lost the element of surprise now. "Clever trick" she said half turning her head to look at him with one eye. "Where'd you get the second lightsaber?"

"I forgot to give it back to someone, and just happened to have it on me" he answered not taking the blade away from her throat even an inch. "Now talk. Who are you?" he demanded.

"Zannah" she answered with no hesitation.

"Zannah" Suji repeated. "Why are you here? Come here to kill me?" he asked.

"You?" Zannah repeated with a bit of a snigger. "Please, you're not even worth my effort. I only fought you because you attacked me, you're not important" she went on.

"They why did you come to my ship?" he asked moving the blade half an inch closer to her throat.

He could tell that she could feel the heat of the lightsaber blade.

"I came here to retrieve something" she answered after a moments pause.

"Retrieve what?" Suji demanded his patience running thin.

He could tell that Zannah was going over something in her head. Finally she said. "The capstone"

Suji's eyes widened. "The capstone?" he repeated. "What for?"

"That is my business" she replied in a cold snapping voice.

"Master" Sam said walking out of the lounge rubbing her eyes. "What's wron-" she froze at the sight of her master holding her lightsaber to a women's throat.

"Sam, get back inside the room" Suji ordered losing his focus on Zannah for a second.

That second was all the Sith needed. In the instant that he spoke to Sam, his attention taken away from the Sith, she used the force to throw Sam into the wall of the hall. Suji's blade pulled away for a second, and she reacted. She dropped backwards onto the floor, landing on her back. Then flipped up backwards and landed a kick right in Suji's face, sending him falling backwards onto the metal floor.

She dived forward and snatched her lightsaber as she rolled on the ground. She got to her feet and flicked both blades of her weapon on. Suji shot up onto his feet holding the green lightsaber in front of him.

Zannah reached out with her hand and the force and pull Sam into the air. Suji spun around to see his apprentice struggling in mid-air, gasping for air. "Let her go!" Suji yelled desperate to save his Padawan.

"Give me the crystal" Zannah demanded. "And I will let her live. Attack me, and you may kill me. But she will die long before I do. Or your 

attack will not kill me, and she will die anyways. Your choice, Jedi" she explained with a grin on her face. "Attack me and let her die, or give me the crystal and let her live, her life rests in your hands now" she added.

What do I do?! Suji yelled in his head. I can't let this monster kill her-but if she is after that crystal then it must have some dark power that he can't let her get her hands on.

Sam's face was turning red she was barely hanging onto life; the life being squeezed out of her by the dark side.

Suji's head dropped. His lightsaber deactivated, then clattered to the floor. He turned to face Zannah. "Fine, you win" he said in defeat.

Suji could tell that Sam was getting a little air now, Zannah had released her hold on the girl to the point where she could barely breathe. "Get the crystal" she ordered.

Suji slowly moved to the cockpit and opened the secret compartment in the wall. He stared at the crystal for a moment before grabbing it. He walked back out in the hall and walked to his dangling Padawan. He turned and faced Zannah, tossing the crystal at her. The crystal landed on the ground next to her feet. Using the force she lifted it up into the air in front of her. She deactivated her lightsabers blades, and attached her lightsaber to her belt, and grabbed the crystal.

Sam started to breathe a little, but she was still in grave danger. "Now let her go" Suji demanded.

Zannah made her way into the cockpit. "I may be a Sith" she began. "But I am a women of my word" she back flipped smashing through the glass of the cockpits window.

Sam started to fall to the ground, but Suji caught her just as she was about to hit. After a quick examination he concluded that Sam would be okay, her face color was back to normal, and she was breathing normally.

"I don't think so" Suji said summoning both lightsabers to his hands. He clipped Sams lightsaber to his belt and held his in his right hand. He ran into the cockpit and dived out of the broken window. He landed on the ground on his feet and used the force to find her. She was inside the ship next to his.

The ship labeled the _Loranda_ started to take off slowly. He was not going to let her get away so easily. He made a force dash for the ship as it approached five meters from ground level. Calling upon the force to aid him he made a leap upward. He jumped ten meters and landed on top of the ships upper hull. He made his way across the top of the ship using the force to help him balance as he did so.

He got down on one knee as the ship approached twenty meters off the ground and activated his lightsaber. He cut a massive circle in the top of the ship and jumped in. As soon as the circle piece he had carved out broke free from the ship, the inside of the ship blazed with the sound of alarms and flashing red lights.

He made his way down the hall he was on, using the force to guide him to his target. Then suddenly, she vanished, he couldn't sense her anywhere. Suddenly he realized: she has the ability to hide her presence by using the dark side.

He slowly made his way down the hall he was in, holding his lightsaber at the ready. The alarms kept on blasting their way through the ship, 

which he sensed had stopped and was now maintaining its current altitude.

A disturbance in the force made him spin around just in time to block an attack from the Sith. Their blades crackled and sizzled as they held their connection. "I kept my word" Zannah said irritated.

"I never said I'd let you go!" Suji yelled back using his brute force to throw Zannah of her balance.

Zannah stumbled but quickly regained her balance and started spinning her double bladed weapon in front of her creating a shield of red energy. "You're skilled, Jedi" she complimented clearly enjoying the confrontation more and more as they fought.

"I will stop you" Suji replied.

Zannah took a deep breath. "Ahhh, I can feel it" she said closing her eyes for a moment. "Your hatred" she added.

Suji held his ground, knowing that attacking while she was spinning her lightsaber like that would only make him vulnerable, he had to wait for her to make the next move.

Zannah smiled. "You're powerful in the dark side" she said.

"Shut up!" Suji shot back. "You know nothing about me!"

"I know that deep down inside, you dislike the Jedi" she stated. "I know that you hate a certain Jedi, who that Jedi is, I don't know" she added.

"You know _nothing_" he repeated his anger rising.

"You wait for me to make the next move" Zannah observed. "Very well then" she lunged forward.

They continued their battle, Zannah spinning her double bladed lightsaber trying to cut her enemy down. Suji blocking and twirling his lightsaber keeping her at bay and to end it. Zannah started to push Suji back down the hall. All he could do right now is block, she was coming at him too fast for him to find an opening to attack without leaving himself fully open to a counter.

Fine, he thought to himself. She wants to play that way. He spun around to swing at her right side, which she blocked with one blade of her lightsaber. Then in one fluid motion he whipped out the green bladed lightsaber and activated it to swing at her left side. Caught off guard by this Zannah had to make a split second decision. She pushed the blue blade away and spun around to block the green blade. She just barely parried it.

Suji stood there spinning his two lightsabers in an expert manor.

Suji charged forward attacking with one blade, then effortlessly attacking with the other. Now it was Zannah who was on the defense. All she could do was defend, unlike her weapon, two lightsabers were not connected, they had the freedom to go anywhere, not limited to the reach of hers.

Suji spun, twirled, and side stepped as he relentlessly kept his attack up. He launched an attack that had both his lightsabers come into contact with the blades of hers, using his brute strength he pushed her lightsaber towards the ground and jumped in the air landing a hard kick to her face.

She spun and landed on her back the wind almost completely knocked out of her. She had dropped her lightsaber which hit the ground and 

deactivated on impact with the ground. Suji stepped forward and pointed his green lightsaber merely inches from her throat. "The dark side never wins" he said as he stared at her defenseless form.

She smiled. "The dark side finds a way, it is the will of the force"

He moved the tip of the green blade closer to his throat. "There's no one to distract me now" he stated. "You've lost, Sith"

He stared into her eyes, she showed no hint of fear, no hint of what he thought she'd have. Her eyes were calm, and collect. Still he drew great pleasure from holding her life in the palm of his hand like this. One simple short jab, and she would be dead. _"Do it"_ a voice in his head told him. _"She's a Sith, she deserves death, she deserves to have the life leave those beautiful eyes. She would not have shown you or your Padawan mercy, she did that on a whim, a whim she will not repeat"_ the voice told him.

Suji shook his head to get rid of the voice. "

"If you're going to kill me" she said. "Then do it. Because if you wait then sooner or later I'll find a way out of this situation" she added with a grin.

Zannah closed her eyes. Suddenly a disturbance rippled its way through the force and to Suji. He spun around just in time to see laser turrets pop out of the ceiling and open fire on him. He had no choice put to pull his green blade away from her and use both of his blades to deflect the blaster fire.

Zannah used this chance to roll away. Summoning the dark side and all its fury she unleashed it in a massive blast that threw Suji out through the very hole he had created to gain access to the ship.

Suji flew in the air above the ships outer hull. He reached out with the force to help him land, he landed on top of the ship only to feel it start to gain altitude again. He ran back to the hole he had created and reached it just in time to see a piece of metal close over it from the inside.

They were approaching the atmosphere of the planet, he had to jump. Shutting down both lightsabers and attaching them to his belt he leapt off the ship. Falling down towards the metal surface of the planet. He knew that he would most likely not survive this but he had to try and find a way.

His robe flapped as he fell, he closed his eyes and tried to find a solution that ended with his survival: he came up with nothing. He was about to give up when he noticed a black object moving towards him. It was _Justice_! His ship!

It came up beside him loosing altitude with him. The loading ramp opened and Suji used the force to help guide him to the ramp. He clamped on to the end of the ramp and pulled himself up, using the force to keep him steady as he walked through the hatch into the ship. Out of breath and exhausted he collapsed onto his bottom and his back slammed against the metal wall opposite the loading hatch, which closed behind him.

Sam came running into the hall. "Master!" she yelled kneeling beside him. "Are you okay?" she asked desperately.

"Yes" Suji breathed. He was breathing very hard, trying to calm himself.

"Who was that person?" she asked.

He took a deep breath trying to slow his breathing down. "A Sith, I've fought her once before" he answered.

"A Sith?" Sam repeated in surprise. "But I thought they were all dead" she added.

"Apparently not" he replied suddenly he got a massive pain in his left arm.

"Master, you're bleeding!" Sam yelled tearing off a piece of her shirt to wrap around the wound.

"Must not have noticed" he said clenching the piece of torn clothing and pressing it hard against the wound.

"What now?" Sam asked.

"Set course for Coruscant at once" he ordered. "I can no longer keep this situation to myself"


	13. Chapter 13: Rite of Commencement

Chapter Thirteen: The Rite of Commencement

Darth Bane, Dark Lord of the Sith, sat on the ground in a meditative position, his eyes closed. He had learned all he could learn from Belia Darzu's holocron. He know knew how to fully make his own Sith Holocron. He meditated on her knowledge that she had passed on to him. The only thing he could do to pass time while he waited for his apprentice, Zannah to return with his capstone.

The Rite of Commencement, the process of performing the Sith ritual kept playing itself over and over in his head. If he made even one mistake during the ritual, if he used too much of himself then he could end his existence. If he used too little of himself, then he risked using that piece of himself in vein and having to attempt it all over again.

He opened his eyes as he felt Zannah approaching his location. He could hear the engines of the ship as it soared over the oceans that surrounded the island he had made their base. He stood up straight, fully exposing his massively muscular form., his black cape flapping behind him as the ship came in for its landing.

The ship landed and the loading ramp extended to the ground. Zannah walked down the ramp at a brisk pace holding a black pouch in her right hand. She got down on one knee in front of her master. "Master" she said bowing her head and holding up the pouch. "The capstone"

Bane reached out and slowly grabbed it. In this pouch held the one thing that could make his dreams of creating a holocron a reality. He 

reached inside and felt the crystal, he slowly pulled it out and gazed at it. A crude smile spread across his face. He walked over to where he had set up the equipment he needed to make the holocron once he had received the capstone.

Bane placed the capstone beside the crystal matrix containing the inner network of what would become his holocron. He now needed to capture his essence into the capstone then combine it with the crystal matrix and in connection to the network itself.

Bane closed his eyes, not wanting to waste any time, he began the Rite of Commencement. He began to chant in a low voice, but steadily made his voice louder and louder.

Zannah watched as her master chanted the ritual. She looked up to see the clear blue sky of Byss being clouded by dark clouds of pitch black. The wind began to pick up until it was howling and tearing at her cloak. Thunder began to bang in the sky above them; lightning crackle and lit up the dark clouds.

She watched as her master was suddenly engulfed in a weird vortex of black energy. She could feel the dark side of the force pouring out of her master. She couldn't help but be amazed at the sheer force of dark side energy he was emitting from his body. Violet-blue lightning started to crackle out of the vortex. She could barely hear anything now besides the crackling of the lightning and the bang of the thunder above them.

Bane could feel it! The dark side energy flowing through him and into the capstone. The suddenly exhilaration feeling was replaced by a sudden tearing in his mind. His eyes shut tight to the pain; it felt like his 

mind was being cut from his body. He tried to push himself beyond the immense pain and push his energies and a fraction of his spirit into the capstone. He would not fail, not when he was this close!

He gritted his teeth and started to push further, he needed more power! He needed to force out more of his power, he was almost done!

His body felt like it was on fire from a flame that kept getting hotter and hotter. He could feel his shirt disintegrate from his skin, and his boots melt off his feet. He was Darth Bane, Dark Lord of the Sith! He would do this and not fail!

Suddenly all the energies that were circling her master exploded in a massive explosion of dark side energy. She was thrown back and slammed against he metal hull of the _Loranda_ she crumbled to the ground and strained to look up at her master.

Her master lay on the ground, not moving. She struggled to stand up, stumbling as she did so. She slowly stumbled over to her master and fell to her knees beside him. The massive explosion of dark side energy that threw her back was immense, more powerful than anything she had ever felt…did it all come from him? Was that all his power in its purest form?

She placed a hand on her masters' shoulder. "Master" she said shaking him slightly. "Master"

Bane's eyes were tightly shut. The ritual was over, yet his mind was still throbbing with agonizing pain. He strained to move his body, his body hurt all over. He used the power of the dark side to suppress the pain pulsating its way through his body. He used his arms and pushed himself up. Zannah was kneeling beside him. He looked over at the 

capstone, it was glowing. He had done it, he had captured his essence in the capstone, now all he had to do was fuse it with the crystal matrix and the inner network. Then he could construct the holocron and store all his knowledge and teachings into it.

He, Darth Bane, Dark Lord of the Sith, the only true Dark Lord remaining. Would pass his knowledge onto the next generation of Dark Lords.


	14. Chapter 14: Goodbye

Chapter Fourteen: Goodbye

It took Suji and Sam two days to get back to Coruscant. On their way back Suji spent most of his time in solitude in the lounge area nursing his wound and contemplating all that had happened with the Sith, Zannah. How he had been tricked by the Sith two times, each time he thought about how he was tricked he couldn't help but be more angry with himself than at her.

That voice that spoke to him while he had her on the ground on her ship had not spoken since he was blown out of the ship. The scariest thing about that to Suji, was not the voice itself, but the fact that if she had not used the dark side to turn on those turrets, he would have listened to the voice, and killed her where she lay.

Sam had spent most of the ride back to Coruscant worried about her master. He had hardly spoken since she had rescued him from that fall, and he seemed to be bothered by something. She had sent a signal back to the Jedi Temple telling them that her master was injured and that he needed medical attention when they touched down; but that was all she could do for him.

Once they had touched down on Coruscant they were met by a medical team and a medical transport which they had Suji get into so they could treat his wound. Sam followed him into the transport. The transport headed back to the Jedi Temple.

Suji lay on one of their medical beds hooked up to a miniature bacta tank which helped his healing process. His Padawan sat beside his bed the entire ride. When the transport finally landed Suji and Sam were met by Jedi Master Hut of the Jedi Council. "Are you feeling well Suji?" he asked.

"Yes, master" Suji replied not giving any hint to the pain still coursing through his arm. "There is something I must discuss with you and the council, master" he urged. "It's of great importance" he added.

"I'm sure it can wait until you are fully healed" Hut replied.

"But, Master-" Suji began but he was cut off by Hut who held up a hand for silence.

"Later, Suji" he cut in. "When you are fully healed and your mind clear"

Suji got a sudden surge of anger. How could he just blow him off like this? He wanted to reply but what little self restraint he still possessed made him bite his tongue. "Yes, master" he replied walking by the Jedi Master.

When her master was out of sight Sam finally spoke. "Um, excuse me, master" she said to Master Hut.

"Yes?" Hut replied.

"Master Suji fought someone" she said. "I left it out of my emergency signal, but he had a lightsaber duel with someone on Alpha Nine" she explained hoping that the Jedi Master would listen to her master now.

"A lightsaber duel you say" Hut repeated putting a finger on his chin. "Did you see this lightsaber duel?" he asked.

"I saw my master holding a lightsaber to a women's throat aboard our ship, then she used the force to pick me up off the ground and choke me, then Master Suji shut down his lightsaber, and the women activated a double bladed red lightsaber" she explained so fast she could barely breathe.

"Settle down, young one" Hut replied. "Breathe, try not to speak so fast, you'll end up suffocating yourself by accident" he joked.

"Master, please listen to Master Suji" Sam pleaded. "Please"

Master Hut let out a sigh. "I will hear him once he is fully healed" he said. "Now you get some rest too, I'm sure he will want you to be there once he is healed and tells me the account of what happened to you two" he said.

"Yes, master" Sam replied with a slight bow.

Suji made it to his room and closed the door behind him. In a sudden surge of rage he kicked the chair to his desk across the room until it shattered in contact with his wall. How can Master Hut be so blind? This is an urgent matter, one that must be dealt with fast and accurately, unless another Sith Wars starts!

He sat in his second chair and threw his face into his hands. "How could he just blow me off like that?" he muttered to himself.

There came a knock at his door. He did not bother to answer the knock, but merely sat there, his face buried in his hands. He didn't care for any visitors right now. "Suji" a familiar female voice called from beyond the door. "I know you're in there, please let me in" the voice of Rin pleaded through the door.

Reaching out with the force Suji opened the door, but did not look up at her, instead he kept his head buried in his hands. Rin entered the room and closed the door behind her.

She walked slowly toward Suji. When she finally reached him she placed her hands on his shoulders and knelt down in front of him. "Suji" she whispered. "What's a matter with you?" she asked in a concerned voice. "Come on, talk to me…please"

He was silent.

She leaned in closer and gently kissed him on the top of his head. He muttered something, but it was covered up by his hands which were still over his face. "What?" she asked. "Remove your head from your hands and talk to me, Suji" she pleaded.

She removed her hands from his shoulders and took his hands in hers and slowly pulled them away from his face. She could see streams on his face, he was crying.

She gently whipped away his tears from his face with her finger. "Powerless…" he muttered.

"Powerless?" she repeated confused. "What's powerless?"

"Me" he answered in a whisper. "I had her twice…I had her beat, but…I just couldn't do it…I couldn't" he said with many pauses.

"Who?" Rin asked still confused. "Who are you talking about?"

"The Sith" Suji answered.

Rin was shocked to hear him say that. "A Sith?" she repeated. "You mean, a Sith lives?" she asked.

"Yes, I've fought her twice" he answered. "But the stupid council won't see me right now. They refuse to accept the truth, that there is one more Sith out there!" his voice began to steadily rise. "They refuse to see through their cloak of denial; arrogant old fossils!"

Rin wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in close and hugged him. "Shhhhh" she whispered. "You're just angry, Suji" she said. "Relax"

"I gave her what she wanted" he said starting to cry harder. "If I hadn't…Sam would be dead"

"You did the right thing Suji. Sam is alive and well"

"She escaped me again" he muttered through his sobs. "Twice…she's escaped…next time…I won't let her get away…next time, she'll be caught…or die" he swore. "I will hunt her down now"

Rin released her hug and looked him in the eyes. "Calm down" she demanded. "Clam yourself Suji, if you loose your cool in front of the masters of the council you will be discredited" she explained. "They will view you as a loose case, and in a worst case scenario punish you for spreading rumors of a Sith"

Suji sniffled. "You're…right" he agreed. "I'm sorry"

She pulled him in and gave him another hug. "Don't be sorry" she felt his arms wrap around her and pull her into a tight hug also. "I'm here for you, always have been, always will be"

Suji pulled away from the hug and looked her in the eyes. "I love you" he said and he gave her a long kiss.

Her arms wrapped around the back of his neck as their kiss went on, and they fell back on his bed.

Several hours later a knock came on Suji's door. He got up and walked over to open the door. He opened it just enough for the person outside to see him. He was not wearing a shirt, only pants. "Jedi Knight Suji" the brown robed Jedi said.

"Yes" Suji replied. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

"You've been summoned before the Jedi Council" the Jedi answered. "Session will commence in thirty minutes"

"Thank you very much" Suji replied.

The Jedi bowed and walked off. Suji closed the door. He turned and walked back over to the bed and sat down on the edge. "Just remember to stay calm" Rin reminded him placing her hand on his shoulder. "You'll be fine"

He placed his hand over hers. "Yeah" he said.

Rin was covered up only by Suji's blanket, her Jedi clothes lay on the corner of the bed. He got up from the edge of the bed and proceeded to put on his Jedi garb clothes. "Honestly" he said after a long silence. "Do you think they will believe me?" he asked still getting dressed.

"Well all Jedi want to believe that the Sith are truly extinct" Rin answered. "I'm sure there are some who are open to the likely hood that one or two of them survived. But when it comes to the council, I'm not sure, they can be thick headed sometimes I have to admit. But they are wise Jedi who have a lot of wisdom and want only what's best for the galaxy, the Republic, and the Jedi Order" she explained.

"Thought so" he replied grabbing his brown robe. "What will I do if they don't believe me?" he asked.

"Well" she smiled at him. "You'll know when the time comes" she replied. "Just follow your heart, and the call of the force and you'll be fine"

Suji walked over to the bed and leaned in and gave her a kiss on the lips. She returned the favor and when he pulled away she gave him a wink.

He smiled back and said. "I'll see you later"

"Yes" she replied. "You will"

He left the room feeling her eyes on his back. He proceeded down the hall when he ran into his Padawan. "Master" she blurted out.

"You coming to the session to?" he asked.

"Yes" she answered panting a little. "They sent me here to get you" she said.

"To get me?" he repeated. "A Jedi just came to my room and told me that I had thirty minutes"

"Well they decided to start early" she replied.

"Figures" he muttered as he began a fast paced walk to the council chambers.

Trying to make me look bad probably by changing the time so I turn up late, he thought as he rounded the corner to the elevator that would take him up to the top of one of the spires. Sam staggered in behind him and he hit the level of the Jedi Council chambers.

As the elevator rose he tried to clear and focus his mind. If he wanted to seem believable he had to control his emotions. The elevator stopped and beeped that they had arrived. The door opened and Suji and Sam walked out into the hall.

They proceeded until they hit two twin doors. Sam took a very deep breath and Suji knocked once. "Enter" a voice called form within.

Suji pushed the two doors open and walked in. They were in a stadium like room, with a light in the middle of the room where he and Sam were suppose to stand. About five meters off the ground there is a very shadowy area where the council usually sat, hiding their faces. "Step into the light, Jedi Knight, Jedi Padawan" a voice ordered.

Suji and Sam did as they were ordered.

"You have been brought before us because you say you have something important and urgent to discuss with us" another voice said, this one a females voice.

"Yes, masters" Suji agreed. "I have requested this meeting because there is indeed an urgent matter that I feel cannot be ignored, and must be brought out into the open"

"What is this matter?" the voice of Jedi Master Hut asked from the shadows.

"There is a Sith Lord on the loose" Suji said bluntly.

Several whispers erupted from the shadows. "A Sith Lord?" one of the voices repeated.

"Yes" Suji answered.

"That is unlikely" another protested. "The Sith are all extinct, they all died on Ruusan when Kaan detonated the thought bomb"

"It is true that most of them died on Ruusan, but there could have been one or two that were not on Ruusan when the thought bomb was detonated" Suji argued back. "How are we to say that _all_ the Sith were on Ruusan? We can't prove that, there is a high chance that some of them were on other worlds" he explained.

"Impossible" another voice shot back. "Kaan had called all of the Siths to Ruusan for a final battle"

"Orders can be disobeyed" Suji argued. "The Sith are not as disciplined as the Jedi are. They can easily disobey orders"

"Kaan had been controlling them all with the power of the dark side" another voice replied. "They would have all listened to him"

"Kaan's mind tricks are unlikely to have worked on all the Sith" Suji shot back. "Some of the Sith may have developed resistance to his mind tricks and turned their back on the Brotherhood before the thought bomb incident"

"The probably of a Sith Lord living now are highly unlikely, almost zero" a voice said.

"_Almost_ zero" Suji repeated putting emphasis on almost. "There's that possibility that one of them did survive, you must see it" he pleaded.

"Do not tell us what we 'must see' Jedi Knight" a voice shot back in a hard tone.

"I have fought this Sith Lord" Suji said finally. "My wound is a direct cause of that fight. The Sith is a human female who uses a double bladed lightsaber. She almost choked my Padawan to death" he explained.

"Do you have any physical proof of this encounter?" a voice asked.

Suji indicated his injured arm. "This should be proof enough" he said.

"But it is not" the same voice shot back. "You have no physical evidence of this 'Sith Lord'. We only have your word to go on, yours and your Padawan"

Suji could feel his blood start to boil. "Please" he pleaded trying to suppress his rising anger. "This cannot be ignored, if we ignore this, then we face the possibility of another Sith War"

"We will not go hunting for a possible Sith Lord that one: may not even exist, and two: even if this Sith Lord did exist, you have no picture and nothing other than the fact that she uses a double bladed lightsaber" a voice replied.

Suji could feel his control of his anger start to slip. "You must see that there is at least one more Sith Lord out there!" his voice started to rise. "If we ignore this we will have a repeat of the last Sith Wars but this time our order may not survive! We must take all precautions to stop this before it evolves into a greater threat!" he pleaded with them his voice echoing in the room.

"You will watch your tone and the level of your voice while speaking to us" a voice shot back.

"How can we trust your word when you cannot control your own emotions?" another voice asked.

"Because you guys must see the truth!" he blurted out. "I beg of you to see reason, you said it yourself there is _almost _zero chance of any Sith Lord still being alive. You said 'almost' not 'absolutely'" he argued. "You leave it open for interpretation that there could be a chance for one to live"

"Suji, calm down" the voice of Master Hut called from the shadows.

"Master, please" Sam said grabbing his arm. "Calm down, this won't help us"

How can they be so blind?! So foolish?! They are just letting the Sith build up their army again! How can they be this blind?!

"It is clear that you are not stable right now" a voice said. "There is a great deal of anger in you right now"

Of course there is, you guys are too damn blind to see the truth, he thought.

"We will end this session now" a voice said. "You two are dismissed"

Suji spun around and slammed the two doors to the room opened and stormed out of the chamber, Sam following close at his heels. "Master, please, calm down" she pleaded.

"Those idiots" he muttered. "They are too afraid to admit that there could be another Sith Lord" he said his anger still rising as they reached the elevator. "I can't believe them" he said as the elevator doors closed behind them.

"Master, we need better proof than your word" she said. "I would have said something, but I was sleeping for the first part of your fight, and unconscious of the second, so I would have only been a burden to your argument" she explained in a disappointed voice.

Suji placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do not sound disappointed, this is up to me now" he said.

"Master?"

"I have to hunt down this Sith Lord on my own from this point on" he said. "If the other Jedi refuse to believe me, and refuse to help, then I just have to do it without their help" he declared.

"You're going to hunt for this Sith Lord on your own?" Sam asked surprised at his declaration.

"Yes" Suji answered. "It's up to me to stop this Sith Lord before she can form another army and start another senseless war" he explained."I'm sorry Sam, I know that your training had only just begun, but you will have to get a new master now" he apologized. "I can no longer be your master"

"Yes" Sam replied. "You can"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I'll come with you" she said.

"No" he replied. "No, I won't drag you into this"

"I'm already dragged into it, master" she replied. "I was almost killed by that Sith, I'm as much in this as you are" she replied.

"You are not skilled enough to fight this Sith" he said. "You are not ready"

"Not yet" she shot back. "But with training I could be, and I can be of help to you too" she protested. "I can help you, please let me come" she pleaded.

Suji stared into her eyes. He could see that she really meant what she was saying, she really did feel part of this battle between him and the Sith. He gave a deep sigh. "Very well, but you will do what I say, no questions" he said. "If I tell you to run, you run; I tell you to hide, you hide, got it?" he asked.

"Yes, master" she replied with a smile.

"Meet me at my ship, I have something I need to do before we go" he said.

"Yes, master" she replied getting off the elevator.

Suji made his way down several halls until he reached his room. He opened the door and saw Rin sitting on the bed reading. "Ah, you've returned" she greeted him closing her book. "How'd it go?" she asked turning fully to him.

"I'm leaving" he said quickly.

"Leaving?" she repeated. "Why?"

"They didn't believe me, not one word" he said. "It's up to me to fight this Sith since no one else will believe me and help"

Rin was silent. "You're going alone?" she asked.

He sighed. "No" he answered. "Sam hammered me into taking her along with me" he admitted. "She kept saying how she was now a part of this battle between me and that Sith now…and she was right, she was almost killed by that Sith, she's part of this" he explained.

"She is only a kid of ten years" Rin replied.

"I will teach her the ways of the force, and protect her" he said sitting down in a chair next to his desk. The remains of the smashed chair were still on the floor in the corner of the room.

"So…you're really leaving" she said in a low voice.

"I'm not leaving the order" he reassured her. "I'm just leaving until this Sith is subdued"

"How long will that take?" she asked.

"I don't know, maybe a week, a month, a year, a century, who knows" he answered. "I just know that I have to do this" he said walking over to her.

He grabbed her hand with both of his. "I really want to stay here with you" he said trying not to start crying. "But…I have to do this, I just have to"

He put his hand on her he cheek and she closed her eyes to his touch. He slowly pulled her closer and gave her a long, deep, intimate kiss. After several long moments he pulled away. "I love you Rin" he said as he stood up and walked out of the room. "Goodbye"

The entire walk to the docking bay his mind was wrapped around leaving Rin. He loved her so furiously, but this…this is something that 

had to take priority. If he succeeded-no, when he succeeded he would be saving her from heavy fighting in another war, maybe even be saving her from death itself.

As he walked into the docking bay he passed Jedi Master Hut, but did not give any recognition to his presence. Hut watched him pass and walk away.

When he reached his ship _Justice_, Sam was standing at the end of the loading ramp. "Master" she greeted with a slight bow.

The engines to the ship flared on. "If you're here" he said to Sam. "Then who's in the pilots seat?" he rushed on board and down the hall to the cockpit.

A person sat in the pilot's seat. "About time you made it" a familiar voice greeted him. He almost fell to his knees when he heard the voice.

The person stood up and Rin walked forward and put her hand on his face. "Like I'd ever let you go" she said with a smile and a kiss.

_Justice_ lifted off and flew out of the docking bay. Suji, Rin, and Sam would hunt this Sith down, no matter how long it took. They would end the Sith once and for all.


	15. Chapter 15: Five Years Later

Chapter Fifteen: Five Years Later

Zannah sat in deep meditation as the _Loranda_ came out of hyperspace near Byss. She had just completed her current mission, and was now headed back to report to her master. She was now twenty six years old, with a more athletic figure to her, and smooth blond hair. The ship broke atmosphere and started is descent to the planets surface.

Over the past five years of Darth Banes housing of Byss, the planet had changed. It was no longer the paradise it was when they had first arrived. The oceans were no longer clear crystal blue, but a murky grey color. The planet had been polluted with the dark side, and in effect, it was changing from a paradise, to a lifeless planet.

Zannah brought the ship down on the island that they lived on, activating the landing gear, the ship touched ground. She activated the loading ramp and proceeded down it.

The time was almost here, she thought. The time for her to kill Darth Bane and take up the title of Dark Lord of the Sith, and find herself an apprentice.

Darth Bane sat as he usually did when she went on missions and when she returned. He was almost always meditating on some matter or another. He stood up at her approach, his muscular form showing no sign of aging or decay. "You're late" he growled.

"Forgive me, master" Zannah replied with a bow. "There were complications with the trade routes leader. He had to be…further persuaded" she explained.

"You have been my apprentice for fifteen years now" Bane stated. "You are reaching the end of you training. There is very little more I can teach you" he went on. "I have completed my holocron and hidden it on my target world. The only thing left to do now, is ensure that my Rule of Two is fully institutionalized"

"It will, master" Zannah replied. "When the time comes that I kill you, I will continue your Rule of Two"

A grin appeared on Banes face. "Secrecy. Cunning. Deception. Betrayal. These are the most important qualities of a Dark Lord of the Sith" he said. "Without them, we are no better than Kaan and his foolish Brotherhood, and no better than the Jedi"

"Yes" Zannah replied.

"From this point on you will not be under my leadership" Bane stated suddenly.

Zannah's eyes opened wide with surprise. "What do you mean, master?" she asked.

"There is nothing else you can learn from me" he stated. "The next time you see me, Zannah" he smiled. "We will fight to the death, and you will show me if you are truly capable of becoming my successor"

"I understand, master" Zannah replied after a short silence.

Bane walked off into the dead trees leaving Zannah standing there. So she would no longer be his apprentice, but his equal until she killed him. I need to kill him very soon, Zannah thought. She had been around Darth Bane ever since the Ruusan incident so she had been able to monitor his progress and knowledge, keeping up with what she needed to do to kill him. But with him dismissing her until they fight, she now had no way of monitoring his progress and what he learns.

Darth Bane is not the type of person who will just sit around waiting. He will be off searching for other ancient Sith knowledge, and Zannah had to kill him before he obtained any more knowledge and power. If she wanted to gain all his knowledge, there is one thing she needed to do: find his Sith Holocron he created.

In the distance Zannah saw the small form of Banes personal shuttle lifting off the ground. Luckily for Zannah, she had placed a tiny tracer on the underside of the ships outer hull to track it. She will know exactly where Darth Bane goes, and when the time was right, she would kill him, and take his title for herself, and all his knowledge and power.


	16. Chapter 16: Family

Chapter Sixteen: Family

The streets of Alpha Nine were as busy as he had remembered them; full of life and energy. As he passed stand after stand he occasionally bought food and supplies that they needed, paying for them, then stuffing them into his carrying pack. His blue white shirt repelled most of the heat coming from the skies above, though his shirt was still wet with sweat from walking the amount of time he had.

He had been walking the streets of Alpha Nine for several hours looking for the parts they needed to repair their ship. He finally stopped next to a stand that held the parts he was looking for. He paid for them and bought a second carrying pack, big enough to fit the metal parts in. His head was really hot, due to his black colored hair, it was absorbing most of the heat that would have otherwise gone to the rest of his body.

He decided that he had enough for them to leave the planet without needing any food or supplies for a few days so he headed back towards their ship where his companions were waiting for him.

Five years have passed since he left the Jedi Temple in pursuit of the Sith, Zannah. Jedi Knight Suji had spent that five years trying to track the Sith down, but he had no luck. Only false leads, and perhaps a few times he came close to finding her, but she moved too fast to keep up. His Padawan, who would now be Knight status if she was still at the Jedi Temple, had grown a lot in that five years. She was now as tall as him, with long brown hair that went all the way down to her middle back. She had grown from a little girl, into a beautiful teenager of fifteen.

Rin had also grown a little in height. Her red hair which matched her red skin, was about the same length as Sam's. She had aided Suji in training Sam during the five years. Her and Suji had also grown much, much closer and their relationship became more intimate. They had made a promise to each other: Once the Sith Lord is dead, they would get married and live the rest of their lives outside of the Jedi circle.

They had left the Jedi Temple without saying anything to anyone, so they assumed that they would be put down as one of the Lost Jedi. Jedi who had decided that the life of a Jedi was not the life that they needed. They accepted that they may never be welcomed back into the Jedi Order, they had accepted that the friends they had made while at the Temple were forever now, out of their reach of contact and communication.

The three of them, Suji, Rin, and Sam had lived together for the past five years. They were basically a family, with Suji and Rin being the father and mother; and Sam being the kid turned teenager.

He made his way down several streets and finally he could see their ship at their docking zone they had rented. They had made some adjustments to his ship, _Justice_. They had added on reinforced durasteel plating around the major parts of the outer hull, and added on a few new weapons and a new targeting system.

When he reached the foot of the landing ramp which was already down he saw the familiar shape, and hair of Sam working on something. "Tampering with the landing ramp again?" he asked as he approached from behind.

Sam turned her head halfway so she could look at him. "I can get the landing ramp to extend and retract faster" she replied. "It will make getting out of tight spots easier, and extraction as well" she explained.

"Right" he replied walked past her into the ship.

He made his way to the lounge area where Rin was sitting in the middle of the area, meditating. He walked over to the cooling unit and started to put in the food he had bought. He placed the sack containing the repair parts on the floor next to him. "You're back" Rin said opening her eyes and coming out of her meditation

"Didn't mean to bother you" he replied being a little quieter now.

"That's fine" she assured. She stood up and walked over to him. "Get the parts we need?" she asked.

"Yeah" he indicated the sack containing the repair parts. "They're in there"

Rin knelt down beside him as he continued to load up the cooling unit. "What have you been dreaming about?" she asked suddenly.

Caught off guard by the question Suji turned to face her. "What do you mean?" he asked confused.

"You've been having nightmares the past few days" she answered. "What have you been dreaming about?" she repeated.

"How do you know I'm having nightmares?" he asked.

"You throb and roll in your sleep, moaning, and saying things like 'I'm sorry master' 'I'll never forgive him for taking him away' and 'No' things like that" she explained.

Suji was silent, after a moments pause he continued to load up the unit, he was running out of things to put in. "I'm fine" he said after a long silence.

"Please" she pleaded. "Tell me, I want to help you"

Using the force, Suji closed and locked the door to the lounge area, so Sam could not walk in on them. Rin glanced at the closed door then back at Suji.

There was a long pause, until Suji broke the silence. "Something's wrong with me" he finally said.

"What is it?" she asked.

Suji stood up. "I'm…I'm not the Jedi my master wanted me to be" he said. "When I first fought that Sith, Zannah on Korriban, I was unable to use the light side of the force due to the intense level of dark side energies…so I let the dark side flow through me so I could fight her" he explained. "Ever since then, I've felt like the dark side is calling to me, but I don't want to answer it. Like it's trying to possess me or something. When I was fighting the Sith five years ago…there was a point where I had her on the ground, defenseless, and beaten. There was a voice in my head, urging me to kill her, to end her life. If she had not acted on my hesitation, I would have killed her" he explained in a low voice of self pity.

Rin stood up and walked over to him. Wrapping her arms around him she pulled him into an intimate hug. "It's okay" she whispered. "That was in the past, you're not a user of the dark side you're a user of the light" she said. "And as for the voice, we all have voices in our heads, whispering to us to do good and wrong things. It's the voice we choose 

to listen to that makes us become who we are meant to be" she explained. "And you listened to your good voice" she added.

He embraced her hug. "Thank you" he said.

As soon as he said that, something brought him down to his knees. He fell out of the wrappings of Rins arms and onto his knees with a thud. Images were flashing through his mind, and they hurt bad. He saw a women in a black robe-the Sith! He saw her walking up massive steps to some temple. He saw himself and the Sith battling another muscular and heavy built Sith. Then an image of a planet shot through his mind like a lightsaber blade through a body. It hurt extremely bad, but he knew that planet!

Rin was kneeling next to him looking frantic. "Suji!" she was yelling. "Suji what's wrong?!"

Suddenly the pain and images stopped. Were those premonitions? Either way he had to get to that planet. "Call Sam inside" he said quickly standing up. "I know where the Sith is going to go. And we're going to get there first"


	17. Chapter 17: The End Begins

Chapter Seven: The Search Begins

Bane sat cross legged in the lounge of the _Loranda_ meditating. All his power and strength had now returned to him, he was now once again, Darth Bane, Dark Lord of the Sith. Now that he was fully recovered he needed to work on creating his own holocron to store all his knowledge and wisdom in.

He meditated with Belia Darzu's holocron sitting on the floor in front of him, not activated. Bane had decided that he needed to meditate on the information he had previously acquired from the holocron before going back in to learn more.

The reason his attempts to make a holocron had failed in the past was because he was missing the capstone, which was required to maintain the cognitive network and prevent it from degrading. Without that critical piece, he would never succeed in building a holocron. Bane had to learn more about the capstone and where to locate one before he could try another attempt to make a holocron.

Bane slowly opened his eyes. He used the power of the dark side to turn the holocron on, and continue his learning. The image of Belia Darzu appeared before him. She spoke where she had left off when Bane had deactivate the holocron back on Tython.

"In order to capture ones essence into the capstone and trap the cognitive network with in it as well, you must invoke the Rite of Commencement, a very, very difficult ritual of the Sith. A ritual that can 

only be done by the most powerful and most strongest in the dark side" she explained. "Once the Rite of Commencement has been done successfully you can put all the knowledge that you require into it and create the information that will be transmitted through your holocron"

Bane sat still soaking in every word she spoke. The Rite of Commencement seemed to be a very difficult Sith Ritual, a ritual he had never heard of before viewing this holocron.

As Belia's image began to explain how to perform the Rite of Commencement the _Loranda _jerked suddenly, and caused Bane to loose his focus. Angry he shut the hologram down and walked out of the lounge and into the cockpit. "What was that?" Bane snarled as he walked behind Zannah who was in the pilots seat.

"We've run into an asteroid field, master" she replied as rocks of all sizes began to close in on them. "Your planet that you had me program into the autopilot is on the very edge of the Outer Rim and has a massive asteroid field protecting it" she explained as she tried to avoid as much of the space rocks as she could.

Bane stared at the asteroid field, using the force he looked past the obstacle to his goal. The planet Byss, a myth of a planet, with no official records of its existence. The perfect home for anyone trying to hide, and the perfect spot to practice rituals and other things that would otherwise draw attention on other planets.

The _Loranda_ was being hammered by asteroids on all sides, jerking the ship in all directions. Bane used the force to encase the ship in a cocoon of dark side energy which repelled the rocks away from the ships hull.

The glue glow of the planet got bigger as they neared its atmosphere. It was easy for Zannah to navigate through the asteroid field after Bane put up the cocoon of dark side energy to repel the rocks. Zannah decreased the speed of the ship. "Entering the planets atmosphere" she said flipping a few switches on the control panel.

Bane watched as they entered the planets atmosphere. The planet which has always been regarded as a myth, a non-existent planet, was all his for the taking now. The planet was a paradise. It had clear blue oceans and lush green forests on islands and other large land masses. Creatures of the sky flew past them as they neared the surface. "Nice place" Zannah commented as she looked at the clear blue ocean they were above.

"Remember this location" Bane said folding his arms across his chest with a grin on his face. "This is our new home"

Zannah scanned the planet for any life forms that could pose a threat to them. "The planet seems to be uninhabited" she commented. "At least uninhabited by any intelligent species" she added.

"Exactly" Bane replied. "We are perfectly isolated out here on this myth of a planet. We are free to practice anything we want here and not have to worry about drawing attention and potentially giving out our secret to anyone" he explained.

"How did you find this place, master?" she asked clearly interested.

"I found this location in an ancient book written by Darth Revan at the academy back on Korriban" he answered. "I never had reason to go here until now" he added.

Zannah brought the ship down in a field surrounded by a dense forest. She flicked the switch to bring out the landing gear and brought it down slowly. The ship shuttered a little as it touched ground. She powered down the engines and stood up to see her master was already gone from the cockpit.

She walked out of the cockpit and to the loading ramp which had already been lowered. Her master stood at the foot of the ramp looking around in all directions. She slowly made her way down the ramp.

The planet was more peaceful than she had thought. She had expected her master to pick another planet that was as dark as Ambria-but this place was anything but dark. Lush green forests surrounded them from all sides, the sound of birds and other creatures of the planet could be heard in the air. The air here was a lot cleaner and more pure than any other plane they had been to.

The purity of the air at first almost made her want to vomit. In her time with her master, they had mostly spent their time on planets with poor air, air tainted with the dark side, she had grown use to that. But this air had no hint of darkness in it. She wondered why her master had picked this planet, there had to be other planets as isolated from the rest of the galaxy as this.

Bane closed his eyes, seemingly to concentrate. Zannah felt a chill run down her spine for a moment before realizing what was happening: her master was pouring the dark side into the air. Polluting the air with the tainted feel of the dark side of the force.

Bane took a deep breath, breathing in the newly tainted air. He spun around to face his apprentice. "I have a mission for you" he said reaching into his black robe.

"Yes master?" she asked.

Bane pulled out a piece of parchment with a drawing on it. A very detailed drawing. "This is the component I need to successfully make a holocron, it's a capstone. A dark crystal that can only be found on a certain planet, a planet completely consumed by the dark side of the force" he explained. "The coordinates to the planet are written here" he pointed below the drawing. "Go and get me a capstone, do not return until you have successfully acquired one" he demanded.

"Yes, master" Zannah replied taking the piece of parchment from her master and heading back to the ship.

She did not need to ask what he was going to do while she was gone. He was most likely going to continue studying that holocron and learn how to complete a holocron successfully.

She boarded the ship, closing the loading ramp as she did so. She sat in the pilots chair inside the cockpit and typed in the coordinates her master had given her. She fired up the ships engines and lifted off the ground. She took one last look out the cockpit window, and saw her master sitting in a meditating position, with the familiar shape of Belia Darzu's holocron sitting on the ground in front of him.

Turning her head away she brought the ship out of the planets atmosphere and headed towards the destination given to her by her master.


	18. Chapter 18: Beacon

Chapter Eighteen: Beacon

"Master, look" Sam said pointing out of the cockpit window.

"A beam of light is coming from the planet" Rin said looking at the beam of light.

Suji sat at in the pilots seat. He increased the ships speed and headed for the planet, and the ray of light. She's there, he thought to himself. She's there, and she isn't going to get away this time.

Their ship blasted through the planets dark atmosphere and headed for the light. The lights area was increasing, slowly covering the planet with bright light.

Suji brought the ship down next to the Siths ship which he was able to spot due to the increased light. He activated the loading ramp and grabbed his Jedi robe. Sam and Rin did the same.

Sam was first off the ship. Suji grabbed Rins arm as she passed him. "You don't have to do this" he whispered. "This is my fight, you and Sam can leave"

She smiled at him and grabbed his hand with hers. "What's your fight _is_ my fight" she kissed him on the lips. "And what's your fight is Sams fight. You said it yourself, we're basically like a family. What effects one of us effects all of us" she explained with a bright smile.

Suji, Sam, and Rin stood side by side looking at the temple that was now visible due to the light slowly covering the planet. Summoning the 

power of the force the three of them dashed forward towards the beacon of light.

They swerved around trees and boulders; jumped and flipped over massive branches, they had to duck for a few of them. The closer they got to the temple, the more Suji could sense that the Sith was still there. He could feel the dark side coming from the temple. As they got closer to the temple Suji noticed some type of black skinned creatures running away from the light, not even noticing them as they passed.

He could see the massive stairs of the temple, the one from his visions!

They reached the edge of the forest and saw the massive temple before them. Suji walked forward and stood in front of a miniature pillar at the base of the temple. He looked up at the very long and wide stairway in front of them. Sam and Rin caught up with him. "She's in the temple" Sam said feeling with the force.

"That's where we're going" Suji said taking off up the long stairs.

The other two followed closely behind him.

After five years of searching, he finally found her, and he was finally going to end the Sith. But what of that second Sith in his visions? The big muscular one, who is he?

They reached the archway that led into the temple. As far as he could see in the temple, the entrance was a long stone corridor. He, Sam, and Rin unclipped their lightsabers but did not activate them. They slowly made their way into the corridor. The temple was completely quiet, not a sound could be heard except for Suji's own breathing.

They made their way down the long corridor until they reached a three way split in their path. They were faced with three corridors now, three paths. Suji and Rin glanced at each other. "We should stick together" Sam said staring at the three paths.

"If we stay together and only go down one path then there we have a one in three chance of finding her before she leaves" he stated. "But if we split up and go down separate paths, we have a better chance of finding her" he added trying to decide the best choice of the two.

"I can handle myself" Sam said after a few moments of silence. "I am at the level of a Jedi Knight" she added. "I don't need one of you with me like I did before"

Rin smiled. "You were the one who said we should stick together, and now you've changed your mind?"

"Master's got a point" Sam answered. "It would be better safety wise to stick together, but it would be mission wise to split up and take separate paths" she explained.

"I'll take the middle one" Suji said. "Sam, the left; Rin, the right"

"Got it" Sam said walking towards her path.

"Sam" Suji spoke up.

Same turned to look at him. "Yes?"

"Be careful don't do anything rash or foolish. Remember everything I thought you, feel, don't think. Let the force guide you" he said.

Sam nodded. "I will, master"

"And don't call me master anymore" he replied. "We stopped being master and pupil a while ago"

"Yes, Suji" she replied with a smile and started to walk down her path.

Rin and Suji stood at the crossroad. "You're shaking" Rin said gently grabbing his right arm.

"For five years we searched" he muttered. "For five years we searched the galaxy, and couldn't find her. Now, we've finally found her, and she won't get away" he pulled Rin in close and kissed her. "In case we don't make it out of here-or in case _I_ don't make it out of here. I love you" he whispered.

"I love you too, Suji" she replied.

Suji released her from the hug and turned toward his path. He took a deep breathe and started down the corridor his grip on his lightsaber hilt tightening, ready to activate the blue blade at a moments notice.

Rin watched as he disappeared down the corridor. "Suji…my love" she whispered. "Live…please" she walked down her path.

Suji walked down his path with a great anticipation. He wanted to fight the Sith named Zannah so bad again. He wanted to finish this fight, and finally end the Sith once and for all.

The corridor seemed to go on forever, he increased the speed of his walking until he was almost at a jog. He kept going until he his corridor ended in a massive stone room. The room was easily fifty to sixty meters long. In the middle was a giant altar, with a set of stairs leading up to the top. He followed the stairs with his eyes until he saw the top.

The Sith, Zannah stood at the top of the stairs, her back to him. He activated his lightsaber, the _snap-hiss_ of the blade activated echoed through massive room. The Sith whipped around and stared at him. "You again" she said. "You were right before. Our paths do seem to cross a lot"

His blue blade pointed at the ground. "I've been hunting for you for five years" he said.

"You're that much into me?" she asked with a grin.

"I've been hunting you to stop you, Sith" he answered.

He pointed the tip of his blade at her. "Time to end this"


	19. Chapter 19: Pawns

Chapter Nineteen: Pawns

Zannah looked as the Jedi pointed his blue blade up at her. She reached and unclipped her lightsaber from her belt. She activated the twin blades and held her ground at the top of the stairs. The Jedi leapt forward up at her.

She blocked his strike with one of her blades and the blades held their connection. He was now standing two steps below her, she had height, she had the momentary advantage. She pushed his blade away and aimed a kick at her face.

The Jedi black flipped off the stairs realizing his disadvantage and landed on the smooth stone ground at the base of the stairs.

Zannah leapt down from the stairs and unleashed a barrage of attacks at the Jedi. He blocked and parried them as they came. Even though he was blocking all her strikes, she was pushing him backwards towards one of the corridors leading out of the room.

She kept alternating from one blade to the other, not giving him any chance to attack, and spinning her double bladed weapons expertly as she attacked. She kept trying to aim at his legs with one blade and his head with the other, trying to throw him off his game for a split second. But it didn't work, he stayed one step ahead of her, twirling his blade so fast he was able to block both blades seemingly at the same time. He had improved greatly since she had last fought him over five years ago.

They were now battling down a small corridor. Their lightsabers carving their marks into the stone as they made their way down the corridor. They blades crackled and sizzled as they went further into the temple. She was the one attacking, and he was the one defending, all she has to do is break through his defense, and he'll be dead.

She tried mixing her lightsaber techniques with her hand to hand techniques. When he blocked one of her blades, she'd push his blade towards the ground with hers, and try landing a kick or punch to his face or body. He rolled, flipped, and sidestepped every one of her attempts.

She kept pressing her attacks, drawing on the dark side to give her more speed and power behind her attacks. The sizzling, crackling and hum of their lightsabers echoed through out the temple. She realized that if he had companions with him, that they would be here soon to aid him. She needed to end this pathetic Jedi's life now. She noticed a rock at the end of the corridor, and called upon the dark side to throw it at the Jedi's head.

The Jedi must have been too wrapped up in the battle to sense it coming, it hit him in the back of the head, momentarily distracting him. That moment was all she needed, she twirled her double bladed weapon and landed a kick right to his chest, throwing him off balance. He fell backwards on his back, his lightsaber skidded across the floor out of his grip.

She stepped forward and angled her blade at the Jedi's throat. "It always ends up this way" she said to the now defenseless Jedi.

Suddenly a disturbance caused her to look behind her just in time to block a blade of purple energy with one of her red blades. Then she angled her second blade to block the blue blade of the Jedi who had recovered from the ground.

She was now facing two Jedi: the black haired guy, and this red skinned women. They were on either side of her, she needed to get them in front of her so she could defend against their attacks. She called upon the dark side and unleashed it in a double force push, which threw the two Jedi backwards. She dashed past the male Jedi and turned back to face them slowly backing up.

The two Jedi ran forward and pressed their attack. They were using perfect team work: they would alternate randomly, keeping Zannah on the defense. The male would be pressing the attack and right in the middle of a sequence of attacks he would break off and roll backwards to let the female Jedi come in and pick up where he left off.

The two Jedi had different fighting styles Zannah noticed. The male was more of power, strength and skill. The women was more about skill and elegance in her moves; she would move from one sequence of attacks to another perfectly and with the grace of an exotic dancer, constantly in motion never stopping even for a second.

Zannah began to realize that if she didn't do something quick, this battle would be out of her hands, and the Jedi would win. They battled their way to the end of the corridor where Zannah black flipped ten meters away from her opponents. They had entered another fairly big room. Not good, Zannah realized. The more room they had the more they could work together and attack at the same time rather than alternate.

"Suji! Rin!" a voice yelled from Zannah's left.

She looked and saw a teenage girl run out of one of the corridors across the room and join the other two Jedi. Three Jedi now, Zannah was definitely at a disadvantage now. The Jedi were extremely skilled-suddenly she was struck with an idea.

She shut down the two blades of her weapons. The three Jedi watched her curiously. She tossed her weapon over to them and got down on one knee. "I surrender" she said lowering her head in defeat.

She could sense the Jedi's confusion. She was doing good so far. "I know when I am beat. I would much rather give up and loose. Than fight and die" she said.

She could feel the male Jedi slowly walking towards her, clearly weary of a trap. The other two Jedi slowly followed him. He stopped a few meters away from where she was kneeling in defeat. "You surrender?" he asked.

"Yes" she answered not lifting her head. "I give up. If I were only fighting two of you, I may not have given up" she confessed. "But three Jedi as skilled as you, I would be facing certain death"

She heard the sound of a lightsaber deactivating. The younger girl, the teenager she could feel.

"Since you have forced me to concede defeat" Zannah began. "I will help you"

"Help us?" the male Jedi asked. "Help us with what?"

"There is one more Sith" she said. She could feel the excitement and a little fear in the male Jedi.

"One more?" he asked.

"Yes" she answered. "He is my master. His name is Darth Bane" she told the three Jedi.

"Darth Bane?" the man repeated.

"Yes" she replied. "He rescued me from Ruusan, and I owed him my life. So I gave my life to him in servitude to the dark side"

"So you were forced into leading this life?" the younger female asked.

"Partly, yes" Zannah lied. "I will admit, the lure of power grabbed me also" she confessed.

"We're taking you to the Jedi Temple" the man said. "It's time we returned with the proof we should have had five years ago"

"That won't work" Zannah said lifting her head to look at them. "He will most likely move before the Jedi will believe you and send masters to kill him" she explained. "I know where he is right now, if you want to stop the Sith for good. I will help you"

"Why are you helping us?" the male asked suspiciously. "Why betray your master like this?"

"Because, I'm sick of serving the darkness, I'm sick of having to do his dirty work for him" she said raising her voice in anger. "I want him to be brought down. If you will allow me to help you do that, then I will testify before the Jedi Council the existence of the Sith" she said.

She could sense the male Jedi going over the proposal.

"If we don't move now, then my master will be long gone from where he is right now and he'll vanish" she pleaded. "I want to help you now" tears began to roll down her cheeks. "Please" she begged. "Let me help you"

"Suji, we should listen to her, she has a point" the teenager said. "If we don't move now, this 'Darth Bane' won't be where he is for long"

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" the man asked. "How can we be sure you're not leading us into a trap?"

"You don't know" Zannah replied. "What I can do for you is show you what my master looks like. That is all I can to show you I am not lying" she said slowly reaching into her pack attached to her belt. She pulled out a little disk and hit a button on the side. A hologram of Darth Bane flickered to life.

"That guy" the man said. "That's Darth Bane?" he asked.

"Yes" Zannah answered.

"You've seen him before?" the red skinned women asked.

"I saw him in a vision" he answered.

"He is very powerful and cunning. He knows to not stay in one place for long, if you want to find him we have to go now, I know where he is" Zannah said standing up.

"She has a point" the teenager said. "We have to move now if we want to stop Darth Bane"

"Alright" the man replied. "You're coming with us. You're going to help us stop Darth Bane"

Zannah suppressed a smile. It worked, she fooled the Jedi. Cunning. Secrecy. Betrayal. All the true elements of a Sith. All elements she has mastered.


	20. Chapter 20: Father

Chapter Twenty: Father

Suji sat at the controls of their ship and ignited the engines. They had switched ships, and were now taking the Siths ship. Her ship was much bigger and luxurious than their old one. It had more space, more equipment and a holding cell to hold the Sith in. Suji was still unsure as to how much she could be trusted, but given the situation, he has no choice but to take her word for it.

The man from his visions back on Alpha Nine was really a Sith Lord: Darth Bane. He keyed in the code that the Sith had given them, and found the beacon she had said she placed on her masters ship before he left her.

The beacon was coming from Kamino, a world ravaged by constant rain year around. He took the controls and lifted the ship off the surface. The light that had been covering the planet was now reseeding back towards the temple. It must have been a temporary power source that activated when someone touched that orb; but deactivated when they left the temple.

Part of Suji wanted to go back to the Jedi Council and throw this Sith on the floor to prove them all wrong; to show them that he had been right all along! But a bigger part of him knew not to let those feelings get in the way, he needed to stop this Sith Master as fast as he could.

As the ship left the planets atmosphere someone walked into the cockpit behind him. Rin took the co pilots seat next to him. "The Sith said her name is Zannah" she said.

"I know" Suji replied.

"She's in the holding cell in the back of the ship" she said. "She said that she will help us fight this Darth Bane"

"I'm not sure how much we can trust her" he said. "All we know of her story that is true so far, is this Darth Bane. Whether or not she will actually help us fight him or say she will help us fight him, then Bane and her team up against us we don't know" he explained. "We have to tread very carefully"

"True" Rin agreed. "But I think she's sincere about wanting to take down Bane" she admitted. "I believe her"

"Where's Sam?"

"She's resting in one of the rooms"

Suji let out a long sigh. "She shouldn't be here" he said. "She's in too much danger, I should have never let her convince me to bring her along"

Rin placed a hand on his shoulder. "Even if you wanted to, you couldn't have left her behind" she said. "I know you Suji, you swore to train her. You never break your word"

He couldn't help but smile. "You have a point" he admitted. "But still, she's so young. She should be back at the temple have a life"

"A life?" Rin repeated with a slight laugh. "If she was back at the temple with the other Jedi, she would be living a normal Jedi's life. The only thing she could look forward to was her next mission. With you she had a Jedi's life and a normal life at the same time. Something an extremely few Jedi get to experience" she explained.

"Yeah" Suji replied with a slight smile. "At first she's annoying. But she grows on you over time"

"You're basically her father, Suji" Rin said. "You may not be her biological father, but you're the only father figure she's had. She'd follow you no matter what"

She's right, Suji thought. I've grown to love Sam like my own daughter, and she's come to love me like a father.

"You understand" Suji began. "There's a very high chance that none of us, not me, you or Sam will come back from this fight"

"And the Sith?" she asked.

"As long as she helps us fight this Darth Bane, then whatever fate she gets I could care less" he admitted.

"Suji" she said in a low voice. "You've got to understand, she's helping us now; not fighting us. She wants to rewrite the wrongs she has done, and replace them with good" she explained.

"Time will tell" Suji replied coldly. "Time will tell"

He keyed in the autopilot and stood up from the pilot's chair and walked out of the cockpit. He walked down the hall to the lounge room. It was much bigger than the one back on his ship, he grabbed 

something to drink and took a big long gulp of it. He fell onto the very comfortable couch and closed his eyes.

If Zannah really did help them kill Darth Bane, would that be the absolute end of the Sith? Would the Jedi finally have one once and for all? These are questions that couldn't be answered until the time came.

"Suji" a voice called. "Suji, wake up"

Suji stirred awake. He had accidently fallen asleep on the couch. Sam was standing over him. "Come on sleepy head" she said. "We're approaching Kamino" she said.

Suji jumped up from the couch so fast he almost head butted Sam. He jogged to the cockpit and found Rin at the controls. He took the seat next to her and looked at the rain covered world. This was it, the place where the Sith would finally die for good.

They entered the atmosphere of the planet, as soon as they did so rain started pounding on their ship. "Don't worry, he won't sense you three" a voice said from behind him. Suji turned around and saw the Sith, Zannah standing in the doorway with Sam. "I'm using the dark side to hide your presences. All he can sense is me" she said.

Without word Suji turned back to look out the cockpit window. They were over a seemingly endless ocean. The planet of Kamino rarely saw a day without constant rain, about once every few years there would be a day with no rain. But this year was not one of them.

"Over there" Zannah pointed out the window to a landing platform. "That's his ship he left with" she said.

"Take us down on the opposite platform" he told Rin pointing out the window.

Rin brought the ship to the opposite platform and touched down on the slippery metal surface of the platform. She keyed the engines off and shut down all the systems to the ship.

"I have to go in first" Zannah said.

"I'm going in with you" Suji said standing up. "I still don't fully trust you"


	21. Chapter 21: Darth Bane

Chapter Twenty One: Darth Bane, Dark Lord of the Sith

The sound of a lightsaber activating on the other side of the room drew Banes attention. A Jedi came through the doorway wielding a blue lightsaber and lunged for Bane.

Bane easily parried it with his own blade. Zannah came up right after the Jedi and forced the attack. So she used her cunning to trick a Jedi, Bane thought. He couldn't help but smile. She was truly worth the time he spent training her.

It did not take Bane long to realize that this Jedi has great skill. The Jedis skills and Zannahs skills working together like this, would actually prove a tough fight, even for Darth Bane.

Zannah and the Jedi moved in unison unleashing a barrage of attacks which put Bane on the defense. He was slowly being forced backwards by their combined attacks. The Jedi tried a leg sweep to knock Bane off his feet, but Bane easily jumped over his leg and flipped backwards. Upon landing he thrust his palm forward, throwing Zannah up against the wall on the other side of the room with the dark side of the force.

Bane wanted to fight this Jedi one on one. The Jedi charged forward pressing the attack, twirling his lightsaber in expert fashion mixing it with his attacks. He swung his blue blade down and Bane put his red blade up and the two clashed with a crackle. They held their connection, trying to force the other back. "You're good" Bane complimented.

"Shut up" the Jedi shot back jumping backwards and unleashing a huge force push.

Bane put up his force shield and was only pushed back a few inches. Zannah came from behind and tried to swipe at his head. Bane ducked out of the attack and landed a kick straight to her chest which sent Zannah staggering backwards. He sensed the Jedi moving in. He spun around and unleashed a storm of violet-blue force lightning at the Jedi.

The Jedi brought his lightsaber up and absorbed the electricity. Zannah recovered quickly and flipped forward slicing down on Bane. Bane rolled backwards to escape the attack then quickly flipped to his left to avoid the blue blade of the Jedi's.

The two continued to press their attack against him. Once again, Bane found himself slowly being forced backwards towards a door on the far side of the room. He was forced yet again to be on the defensive end of this battle.

The blades of Bane and his two opponents clashed and echoed throughout the room. The battle was growing into a fierce one. But Bane was not worried; even with their combined skill the Jedi and Zannah were not capable of beating him.

As if only to smite his very thoughts, he heard the sound of two more lightsaber activating from behind him. He jumped to his right and looked towards where he heard the noise. Two more Jedi, both female stood in the doorway he was being pressed to. One was a teenager, and the other a slightly older women probably late twenties with red skin.

They both lunged in to join the battle. Bane was now fighting for opponents: Three Jedi; One Sith. A combination of five lightsaber blades, and many ways this could go wrong for him. But he was Darth Bane, Dark Lord of the Sith. He would not be beaten by Jedi, let alone three Jedi.

He allowed the two new Jedi to engage him. He parried and blocked as they pressed their attacks upon him. The teenage Jedi thrusted her green lightsaber at Banes face. He batted it aside with his red blade and threw her backwards with the force. The red skinned women attacked with her purple lightsaber: her attacks were elegant and melted into the other perfectly. She was skilled with form and sequence combinations and transitions.

He sensed Zannah and the male Jedi coming from behind and leapt into the air. He landed on the other side of the room, at least twenty meters distance between him and his opponents. Somehow Zannah had tricked these three Jedi into helping her fight Bane. Cunning. Secrecy. Deception. Betrayal. She used them all in one plan, he smiled. She was truly worthy of succeeding him.

His four opponents moved in pairs. Zannah and the male Jedi; and the two other Jedi women.

Zannah and the male moved in first. Bane was now ready to get serious. He gripped his lightsaber hilt with both hands now and held his lightsaber above his head. The two of them attacked at the same time, and in a flash Bane parried Zannah's strike and at the same time evaded the Jedi's strike, landing a kick right to the Jedi's kneel bringing him to one knee. Which he succeeded with a jaw breaking punch that sent the 

Jedi flying through the air and slamming on the ground about twelve meters away.

The other two Jedi moved in the instant the other Jedi had slammed on the ground. It would seem that Zannah was getting serious as well, her attacks were becoming more fierce, more powerful, and more skilled. The two female Jedi reengaged Bane and he was put on the defensive once again.

The teenage Jedi had stamina, and a great strength in the force, but lacked skill and the proper training to use the force in unison with her lightsaber and physical attacks. That was going to be her downfall.

Parrying the blow from the girls green lightsaber, Bane spun on the heel of his foot and preformed and three sixty turn and plunged his red blade through the chest of the girl.


	22. Chapter 22: Darth Zannah

Chapter Twenty Two: Darth Zannah

Suji watched in absolute horror as Darth Bane plunged his lightsaber blade through Sams chest. He watched as the Sith Lord pulled his blade out to engage Zannah and Rin. Sams body flopped lifelessly to the ground; her lightsaber clattered on the floor next to her.

Suji stared at her body not wanting to believe it had just happened. Sam, his Padawan, his friend, basically his daughter…dead…gone forever.

Suji could feel his anger, rage, and grief coursing through his veins. His body started to leak out power, both the light side and the dark side. The power was leaking out like a damn ready to break and release all it held back.

He jumped to his feet and called his lightsaber to his hand, he flicked it on and jumped forward. He shot passed Zannah and Rin and started an attack of pure rage on Darth Bane.

His speed had increased, his power had over doubled, and his strength had gone up. He was pushing the Dark Lord back, not thinking about his moves, just moving with his emotions.

The Dark Lord was put on the absolute defensive side of the battle, parrying, blocked, and evading Suji's attacks as much as he could. Suji could feel his rage growing the more he fought Darth Bane. The more he fought Sams killer.

He pushed Bane out of the room into a white hallway that lead to a door. He continued to push his attack, not giving the Dark Lord enough time to think or attack back. Behind him, Suji could feel Zannah running after them to rejoin the battle, and Rin at Sams body.

Suji attempted several strikes aimed at the Sith Lords knees and legs, but the Sith blocked and parried everyone. Even with all of Suji's rage, all of his power, all of his speed and skill; he could not defeat this Dark Lord of the Sith.

As if answering his calls, Zannah leapt back into the fight. Together they increased the rate that Darth Bane was forced to backup. Their lightsabers clashing echoed through out the complex, their blades carved lines and holes in the walls of the hall as they battled their way to the door at the end.

They pushed Bane outside of the door to the walkway leading to a platform were Banes ship sat. The rain pounded them unmercifully; drenching them in water not even a minute after they got out. They were now battling on a slippery metal walkway. One mistake, one slip, and they would plummet to the icy waters below.

Zannah managed to get ahead of Suji and fight Bane while Suji was trying to not slip and fall. Rin came running out of the complex, together her and Suji charged forward to end this fight, and avenge Sams death.

Zannah pressed her attacks, twirling and spinner her double bladed weapon expertly. She spun on her foot to get behind Bane and incapacitate him, but the Dark Lord saw through her move. He turned 

his body halfway and brought his red blade down and blocked her blade from cutting his legs off.

Their blades still connected Bane pushed her blade upwards and landed a kick at her chest, pushing her backwards towards the edge of the walkway.

Suji and Rin charged into the fight and began their attack on Darth Bane. They had made their way to the platform where Banes ship sat. The constant wall of rain was starting to blind Suji, the water dripping from his hair to his face was starting to get in his eyes, causing his vision to go blurry. He had to see mostly with the force now, and let the force drive his attacks.

Bane blocked and parried every attack the two Jedi through at him. He parried a strike from Rin and thrusted out his palm throwing her backwards with the force.

Rin was forced backwards by the push and tripped over the edge of the platform, the only thing that saved her was an instinctive reaction to grab the raining as she fell. She dangled there over the icy waters that would be her tomb if she didn't get back up to the platform fast and help Suji and Zannah.

Suji and Zannah worked together to try and end the Dark Lords life. But Darth Bane was too skilled, he blocked and parried their attacks with seemingly no effort. He spun and flipped around them splitting them apart so he could fight them one at a time.

Suji was now the one facing the Dark Lord of the Sith. He shot forward and aimed a strike at the Siths chest, which Bane parried. Bane thrusted his lightsaber forward and Suji batted it away with his blade. He spun 

around and aimed a strike at Banes heels; which Bane blocked. Their blades crackled as they held their connection.

Bane removed one hand from his lightsaber and landed a solid punch in Suji's face. Suji staggered backwards momentarily dazed by the force of the punch. Bane used this moment of confusion to end the battle-but was stopped by the red blade of Zannah's double bladed lightsaber.

She blocked and spun his blade around in the air with her blade. She whipped around and landed her first solid blow against her master. A solid kick to the chest. Bane took a few steps backward and Suji leapt forward, Zannah reached out with the dark side and threw Suji backwards away from Bane.

She shot forward and in a brilliant display of power, skill, and control of the dark side she managed to work her way around Banes guard. In one swift move she took off the Sith Lord right hand. Bane screamed in pain and fell to his knees, clutching his stump of a hand. His right hand fell to the metal platform and his lightsaber deactivated on impact.

Bane smiled. "Good" he said through clenched teeth. "Now, fulfill the Rule of Two"

She complied, with one swift motion she took off the Sith Lords head. His body flopped to the ground.

Rin used the force and leapt from the raining she was holding onto and landed back on the platform. "You did it Zannah!" Rin yelled walking over to her.

When she reached her, she didn't know what hit her until it was too late. Zannah spun around and slashed with her lightsaber. Cleaving Rin 

in to at the waist, she thrusted out her palm and sent the two half of the Jedi plummeting to the icy depths below.

Suji leapt forward and engaged Zannah. "I knew you couldn't be trusted Zannah!" he screamed as he tried to kill the Sith.

"It's _Darth_ Zannah" she replied her eyes turning a sinister yellow.

The battle did not last long, Suji was already partly exhausted from his sudden spit of rage at Sams death, and now at Rins death. Zannah easily parried out of his attacks and in an instant drove her blade through the Jedis chest.

Suji's grip on his lightsaber released and his blade deactivated as it hit the metal floor. Zannah removed her blade from his chest. He fell to his knees. His vision started to fade, he was loosing a lot of blood, and he was going to die here, with his family.

With one finally look into his killers yellow eyes, his eyes closed, and his body flopped to the ground.


	23. Chapter 23: New Beginning

Chapter Twenty Three: New Beginning

Darth Zannah watched with an emotionless stare as Suji's eyes closed and his body flopped over on the hard metal surface of the platform.

Zannah had done it. She had made the transition from Sith Apprentice, to Dark Lord of the Sith. She was now the only Sith Lord remaining, it was time for her to find a apprentice for herself.

She had played the three Jedi like puppets ever since they met in the temple. She had them wrapped around her finger, until their usefulness ended, and she ceased to need them. She tricked the Jedi into believe she wanted to repent for what she had done and kill her master. The only thing true that she told them, was that she wanted to kill Darth Bane.

Using the power of the force she lifted Darth Bane's body, along with Suji's and dropped them over the edge of the platform into the icy depths that would be their tomb. She then called upon the force to throw Banes ship over the edge as well, it fell with a massive _splash_ into the waters below.

She made her way back through the facility and stopped and Sams body. She needed to dispose of all evidence. She carried Sams body with the force outside and dumped it over the edge into the water below. She then continued to make her way back through the facility.

She made it out of the facility and walked down the walkway that lead to where Rin had brought the _Loranda_ down. She activated the loading 

ramp and climbed aboard. She walked to the cockpit and keyed the ships systems on, and activated the weapons array.

She lifted the ship off the ground twenty meters before unleashing a devastating barrage of energy bolts on the facility they were in. She needed to dispose of _all_ evidence, including the lightsaber scars left on the wall. It only took a few seconds of constant fire before the facility started to collapse into the water. It crumbed apart as she continued the barrage.

She watched as it fell and disappeared into the water below. Now it was truly done, she had killed her master, and whipped out all evidence of the battle. She would now carry on Banes legacy. His legend. The Rule of Two: "Two there should be; no more, no less. One to embody power, the other to crave it" she muttered to herself.

She turned the ship and headed out of Kamino's atmosphere. "It's time for me to find an apprentice of my own, to carry on the Rule of Two" she said punching in coordinates for the hyperspace drive. Her ship vanished into the reaches of space.

The Legend of Darth Bane would live on through Darth Zannah; the Rule of Two and everything he had taught her. She would pass down to her apprentice, and that apprentice to his or her apprentice and so on. Until the Sith once more ruled the Galaxy.


End file.
